Have you exhausted every medical professional seeking help for your
Did you know tick-borne diseases and mold toxicity may be the hidden cause of your chronic urinary tract infections?
Meet Dr. Pamela Cipriano
A nationally recognized Lyme disease and functional medicine expert, Dr. Cipriano goes beyond symptom management to find and treat the root cause of complex health issues. She is an ILADS member, researcher, and speaker. She is also on the Task Force with the World Health Organization for Research on Long Covid.
38 When the Body Finally Speaks By Jacqueline Kane, LMT
Belonging Is Medicine: Why We Keep Repeating Relationship Patterns
Beyor 42 5 Keys to Energizing Your Morning By Sharon Sklar, BFA, LMT, CAR
Spirituality
20 The Healing Power of Retreats By Joyce St. Germaine, M.Ed., CHt., RYT-200
When Movement Becomes Medicine By Rev. Joy M. Perugini
What Makes a Powerful Healer? By Agnes Daddona, Psychic Medium and
Room to Breathe: Energetically Aligning Your Space and Spirit By Mary Grace Peak, Founder, Energy and Grace 56 Energy Healing and the Evolution of the Art and Science of Nursing By Melissa Wooldridge Breton, APRN
Hey, I’m Dr. Diane!
Doyou believe in signs from the Other Side, that it’s possible to receive messages from loved ones who have passed that impart a greater understanding of our interconnectedness?
I’ve always believed that death did not mean the end of someone being, that we transform into a different energy, leaving the body behind and continuing on our soul’s journey to whatever’s next. My mother was a believer, too. She somehow knew that she was going to see loved ones when she passed to the Other Side. She also believed that they could communicate with her after their death. According to her, among other stories she has told me, my dad would visit her in the form of a seagull and he would show up in the strangest places.
“I've always believed that death did not mean the end of someone being, that we transform into a different energy, leaving the body behind and continuing on our soul's journey to whatever's next.”
—Dr.
Diane Hayden, PhD
We would talk about how she would communicate with me after she passed. She didn’t want to specify how she would do it or in what form because she wasn’t sure she could make it happen. I would just have to know it was her. Well, she underestimated her capabilities—and do I have some stories that even I probably wouldn’t believe unless multiple people had experienced it with me. She started communicating with me just five days after she passed. On the way to the funeral home to drop off something, I pulled up behind a car and the license plate read “Dutchy.” My jaw dropped. One of my mom’s best friends was a woman named Ruth Dutcher—and they used to use that nickname for her. A few days later I got a text reading, “Hi Marian, this is Grace.” Marian was my mom’s name. Grace was her mom’s name.
The night of my mom’s funeral, a few of my friends and I had dinner. I chose a restaurant I typically would never go to, but I was exhausted and it was the first thing that popped into my mind. Turns out it was trivia night and halfway through our meal we heard this question, “In what movie does the lead actress, Marian….” All six of us stopped eating and looked at each other in amazement. We had a standing joke that she thought a mourning dove had the same call as an owl. She would say, “I heard an owl this morning!” And I would say, “Mom that’s a mourning dove.” About a week after she passed, the one pictured here landed on the railing outside our kitchen and stared at me for over an hour. I have heard a mourning dove outside my window almost every day over the last two months. And there’s more. One day I asked her to show me an orange. Just one single orange. Well, with my mother’s sense of humor I got - orange chairs, an orange pencil, women in orange dresses, restaurant staff in orange shirts, an orange baseball cap, but not one single orange. Over the next few days I would laugh and say to her – “you couldn’t just show me one orange?” The next day I’m driving and pull up behind a car with the license plate “Orange-1.”
Probably the best two messages I got happened recently. I was at Artisan restaurant in West Hartford, and as I was perusing the menu I saw the “Georgette Salad.” My mom made up this game when I was little that she and I were giraffes—she was Georgie the big giraffe, and I was Georgette the little giraffe. Have you ever seen a Georgette salad on a menu?! That same night, Chris and I were home watching TV, and the lamp next to the couch suddenly went out. The TV and other lights stayed on. We sat there, looked at each other for a few minutes, and then he got up to change the lightbulb. As soon as he stood up, the lamp came back on! And we’ve had no problems with it since.
When I said I believe that we live on after we pass and can communicate with loved ones still alive, now I know without a doubt that it is true. How could any of those things happen if it wasn’t? Energy is everywhere and we have the power to use it—to heal, to communicate, and to change the world.
Wishing you health and happiness,
Dr. Diane Hayden, PhD Publisher & Owner, ELM Publishing
Our mission is to provide valuable insight, information, and resources that will allow our readers to maintain a healthy, active, sustainable lifestyle. Natural Nutmeg contains timely information on natural health, complementary and alternative medicine, nutrition, fitness, personal growth, green living, and the products and services that support a healthy lifestyle.
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Greater Hartford and surrounding counties, please contact Natural Nutmeg. FFC—Tom Cossuto, Man In Motion, LLC
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Natural Nutmeg is a free publication supported solely by our advertisers and distributed throughout Connecticut. Please call for a location near you. (860) 508-0894 or email to publisher@naturalnutmeg.com.
Narrative Medicine Groups for Adolescent Mental Health
The Narrative Medicine Group is an innovative therapeutic approach designed to support adolescent mental health. Rooted in the understanding that stories shape identity and foster healing, the group offers a safe space for adolescents to explore their experiences through storytelling, poetry, close reading, and writing. Narrative medicine is gained particularly relevant in adolescent care, especially for those facing significant health challenges such as cancer recovery. By encouraging self-expression and empathy, the group nurtures resilience and holistic well-being.
Central to the Narrative Medicine Group is the creation of a therapeutic environment built on empathy, creativity, and psychological safety. Facilitators cultivate a compassionate space where adolescents feel seen and heard. Creativity flourishes through artistic expression, and self-expression is honored as participants share their stories. The environment is structured to reduce anxiety, encourage openness, and support emotional growth, making safety a foundational value.
Participants engage in a variety of activities designed to promote reflection and connection, tailored to the developmental needs of adolescents:
Storytelling: Sharing personal narratives enables adolescents to make sense of their experiences, find meaning, and connect with others.
Poetry: Crafting and reading poems foster creative exploration and emotional release.
Close Reading: Discussing literary texts or poems enhances understanding, empathy, and critical thinking.
Writing exercises: Guided prompts encourage self-reflection, emotional processing, and the development of voice.
Rituals such as opening circles, mindful breathing, and grounding exercises help establish a therapeutic container that safely holds participants. This structure allows for vulnerability and trust, essential for healing. Facilitators model attuned responses and provide guidance in managing difficult emotions, helping adolescents develop self-regulation skills.
The Narrative Medicine Group emphasizes the importance of community and connection. Sharing stories builds supportive relationships among participants, reducing isolation and promoting belonging. The group honors everyone’s narrative, validating diverse experiences and identities. Through collective meaning-making and empathy, adolescents experience the transformative power of bearing witness to one another’s journeys.
The group offers a compassionate, creative, and evidence-based approach to adolescent mental health, fostering safety and healing and helping them develop resilience, emotional regulation, and a sense of community. By honoring each individual’s narrative, the group supports holistic care and empowers adolescents to thrive through adversity.
Dr. Tanvi Gandhi, ND, LAc, is a Certified Integrative Psychiatry Provider at Shiva-Shakti Acupuncture and Ayurveda LLC, located in Stamford, New Canaan, and the Greater New York City area Call 475.282.5817 and visit drtanvigandhi.com to learn more. See ad on page 21 >
Healing from the Inside Out: G5-CIAS Energy EMF Products
They are small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and discreet enough to forget you're wearing them—yet G5-CIAS Energy EMF products are quietly changing the way people think about healing. Our world is saturated with positive ions. Every wireless device, electronic screen, and EMF-emitting appliance in our environment disrupts the body's natural bioelectric field—the very field our cells depend on to communicate, repair, and thrive. G5-CIAS products work by converting those disruptive positive ions into the negative ions our bodies are designed to use, supporting the body's innate ability to heal at a cellular level.
For everyday wellness, the results speak clearly. Those navigating chronic illness, inflammation, autoimmune challenges, injuries, surgeries, brain fog, or persistent fatigue often find G5-CIAS products to be a tool that supports what the body is already trying to do, without adding chemicals, stimulants, or complexity.
For athletes, the edge is real. Professional hockey players, competitive powerlifters, marathon runners, and bodybuilders incorporate G5-CIAS vials into their training and competition routines. The result isn't artificial stimulation—it's the kind of grounded, focused energy that lets the body perform and recover the way it was built to.
Animals are just as affected by EMF disruption as we are. A G5-CIAS vial clipped to a collar or placed into their bed can support calmer behavior, steadier energy, and an overall sense of well-being—because every living system deserves to feel at ease.
Bluebird Natural Healing is a small, mother and daughters-owned natural health business based in the Pacific Northwest, specializing in handcra ed herbal formulas, orthomolecular facial analysis, and energy wellness products. See ad on page 19 >
The15th Annual Health Wellness & Lifestyle Expo 2026, with special thanks to Stamford Health, Exclusive Healthcare Partner, returns Saturday, September 12, 2026, from 10 am–5 pm to Harbor Point along Stamford’s beautiful waterfront boardwalk. This exciting one-day community extravaganza will once again feature more than 130 sponsors and exhibitors, 10 interactive zones, free health screenings, free fitness classes, wellness experiences, healthy food and beverages, family activities, shopping opportunities, and much more.
This year’s Expo promises to be bigger and more dynamic than ever, bringing together thousands of attendees eager to discover the latest in health, wellness, fitness, beauty, nutrition, lifestyle, medical, financial wellness, pet wellness, and eco-conscious products and services. Attendees are encouraged not only to explore and learn—but also to SHOP, engage, and connect directly with businesses and organizations offering innovative products, one-day-only membership/services enrollment incentives, and experiences.
Highlights include free health screenings provided by Stamford Health; flu shots and nutrition information provided by ShopRite/Cingari Family Markets; group fitness, yoga, and stretching classes along the scenic waterfront boardwalk; healthy home and garden inspiration; wellness products and services; pet wellness attractions; kids activities; healthy food trucks; and interactive experiences for all ages.
This year’s event will spotlight a vibrantWellness Marketplace, giving attendees the opportunity to purchase health and wellness products and services for themselves and their families. Many sponsors and exhibitors will offer one-day-only show specials available exclusively at the Expo, providing an opportunity to discover new resources, support local and regional businesses, and invest in personal and family well-being.
The Expo provides exceptional opportunities for Sponsors and Exhibitors seeking premium visibility and meaningful face-to-face engagement with a large, health-conscious audience. Businesses benefit from direct consumer interaction, lead generation, brand awareness, product sampling, sales opportunities, media exposure, and alignment with one of the region’s most respected annual community events.
Parking and admission are free.
For the latest event updates, sponsor announcements, exhibitor information, and activities, visit: hwl-expos.com; Instagram: @HWLEXPO; Facebook: FACEBOOK.COM/HWLEXPO. The Health Wellness & Lifestyle Expo is created and produced by TMK Event Marketing, based in Greenwich, CT. For exhibitor and sponsorship opportunities, please contact TMK Event Marketing at 203.531.3047 or tamara@tmk-eventmarketing.com See ad on page 57 >
Kate Graham, Owner Baseline Regenerative
Wellness isn̕t a luxury to me—it̕s a lifeline. I believe the body, mind, and spirit are always capable of resetting, and my job is to create space for that. What sets Baseline Regenerative apart is that we meet people exactly where they are. From infrared hot yoga and power flow to puppy yoga, EDM hip hop yoga, and Namaste & Nosh, we bring warmth, intention, and a little whimsy. As Wallingford's first infrared hot yoga studio, every class is designed for one purpose: to help you find your way back to yourself.
As a single mom who navigated years of adversity while raising two boys, I leaned on movement, breath, and community to stay grounded when everything felt uncertain. Yoga wasn't just exercise—it was survival. That experience became my compass. I built Baseline because I knew I wasn't the only one who needed a place that holds you without judgment and reminds you that you can always begin again.
Grand Opening Day—both sessions packed, running on little sleep, watching my people walk through the doors. Offering a healing space not just to others but to myself is something I'll never take for granted.
Baseline is just getting started. I'm expanding workshops, deepening community partnerships, and creating experiences that are unexpected and genuinely healing. Find your baseline— and build from there.
My name is Deana Paqua, and I’m passionate about supporting empaths, healers, and spiritual seekers in growing their confidence, healing, and spiritual gifts so they can more deeply serve their clients, the collective, and the earth.
I started on this path through my own struggles with OCD, a cancer diagnosis in my 20s, then a near-fatal car accident that changed everything. When conventional medicine reached its limits, holistic practices transformed what felt impossible. I know firsthand what this work can do, which has led to decades of study and practice in bodywork, Reiki, a Master’s in Integrative Health, and cross-cultural methods from various indigenous elders with permission. Some of my favorite memories involve seeing students learn a new healing technique and really feel the profound effects in real time.
I’mLisa Cooper of Harmonious Healing. I’m passionate about helping people reconnect with themselves in a grounded, sustainable way through mindfulness, sound healing, breathwork, Reiki, and integrative wellness practices. What sets my approach apart is that I blend calming healing modalities with practical lifestyle and mindfulness support, meeting each person exactly where they are.
My journey into this work began with a 12-step recovery program, which introduced me to mindfulness, self-awareness, and the importance of inner healing and personal growth. That experience ultimately led me to a deeper path of meditation, sound healing, breathwork, Reiki, and integrative wellness practices that I now share with others.
One of my most meaningful experiences was working with an 80-year-old woman undergoing cancer treatment after her daughter asked me to offer a series of private sound baths. While the sessions were deeply calming, what stayed with me most was the genuine connection and the sense of comfort, trust, and companionship that developed between us throughout the experience.
My vision is to continue expanding Harmonious Healing through thoughtfully curated retreats, corporate wellness offerings, private client work, and community experiences that make mindfulness and healing more accessible. I hope to create spaces that help people slow down, reconnect inwardly, and support their overall well-being in a meaningful way.
Lisa Cooper • Harmonious Healing Fairfield County, Westchester County, NYC 9142618868 • harmonioushealing.com
Through Embody the Sacred, I offer a grounded approach to sessions, classes, and training programs in energy medicine and contemporary shamanism, and I also have the honor to teach as an Adjunct Professor at Western Connecticut State University.
This October, I am welcoming a new cohort into the Holistic Shamanic Practitioner Program—a 13-month journey for healers and spiritual seekers called to grow their gifts and service. Registration is open; spaces are limited. I also look forward to offering more virtual offerings and retreats—bringing this work to support healers and empaths beyond our local community, while staying rooted in the people and land I have served for over 25 years.
Hello there! My name is Gabrielle, and I am The Nimble Alchemist. I’m still the newbie on the block, but don’t let my youthful face fool you!
A delightful mixture of innocence and wisdom, and a lovely alchemy of many things; I am all that I am. I’m not holier than thou, and my wisdom does not negate your truth. I’ve been in the trenches too, and I put in work! It’s only after going through my own trials that I have discovered my own superpowers/secret weapons of navigating my life. I am passionate about helping others find theirs, too.
My goal is to offer a sacred space, perspectiveshifting inquiries and guidance, a kind smile, a strong structure, and the freedom to be yourself. What others, or yourself, might find dull, weird, too much, or too different? I’d say it’s your superpower. I love seeing my clients have those moments where everything clicks for them. Honestly, I am just so grateful for everyone who has supported this endeavor.
Lately, I have been tapping back into my “mad alchemist mode” and testing uniquely curated organic beauty products. I hope to share this soon! Ultimately, I’m excited to join a wonderfully expanding network of energy healers, complementary therapists, and wellness providers devoted to holistic well-being.
I envision everyone who seeks holistic healing finds their right guidepost and sacred retreat at the right time, supporting their journey towards empowerment, growth, self-discovery, self-transformation, and ultimately, their own sustainable process of spiritual alchemy.
The Nimble Alchemist, LLC Glastonbury, CT 860.333.5514 thenimblealchemist.com
The Mindfulness Studio, LLC
The Mindfulness Studio exists because we believe feeling well should be accessible, genuine, and community-rooted. I’m Nikki, Yoga Program Director, and I try to bring warmth, expertise, and a deep personal commitment to meeting students exactly where they are. What sets our studio apart is the rare combination of my thoughtful, inclusive approach to yoga with the clinical depth of our broader wellness offerings, including counseling and coaching through our founder, Licensed Professional Counselor Chris Griffin, aka “That Mindful Guy,” who offers personal guidance, as well as group meditation for beginners as well as more seasoned practitioners. We also offer rental space for others to host wellness events and retreats in a brand new state-of-the-art facility. All this combines for a dynamic holistic wellness community.
My path into this work began through my own healing journey as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. For many years, I lived disconnected from my body and struggled with shame, survival, and silence. When I first found yoga, I thought it was about changing my body or becoming more flexible, but over time, it became a space where I could begin rebuilding trust in myself. Through trauma-informed yoga, mindfulness, and community, I experienced what it felt like to reconnect with my body in a compassionate and empowered way.
That personal transformation deeply shaped the work I do today. As a prevention educator and trauma-informed yoga teacher, I am passionate about creating spaces where survivors, marginalized communities, and people who have historically felt excluded from wellness spaces can feel seen, safe, and supported in their healing. My experiences, both personal and professional, continue to remind me that healing is possible and that our bodies deserve care, liberation, and belonging.
One of my favorite memories as a holistic practitioner was leading an eight-week trauma-informed yoga program for survivors of sexual violence and witnessing the transformation that happened when participants began reconnecting with their bodies on their own terms. I remember one participant sharing that for the first time in years, she felt safe enough to take a deep breath without bracing herself. Moments like that remind me that healing is not always loud ordramatic; it canlook like softening, trusting yourself again, laughing in community, or simply feeling present in your body. Being able to hold space for those moments is something I never take for granted.
As a licensed therapist and coach, Chris believes that finding the right therapist matters. In his years of practice, he has learned that effective therapy requires not just training, but the kind of perspective that comes with time and experience. He has worked with hundreds of clients, presented at professional conferences, and navigated enough of life to understand the complexities you’re bringing to the room.
Our vision for the yoga program is to grow a genuinely inclusive community, one where beginners feel as at home as longtime practitioners. Alongside the Mindfulness Studio’s expanding wellness offerings and community events, we’re building something Vernon hasn’t quite seen before: a place where people find movement, stillness, support, and connection all in one space.
The Mindfulness Studio, LLC • Vernon, CT 860.328.2424 • themindfulnessstudio.com
Lindsay E. Day, MS, BCBA, LBA, IBA, RMT, LMHP-VA
Daybreak Holistic Wellness
My passion for integrative wellness emerged organically through both personal experience and professional growth. I was first introduced to yoga and mindfulness in middle school while growing up in a religious household. During my middle and high school years, I experienced significant grief and loss, and at that time, much of my support came primarily from my church community.
Although I deeply valued that foundation, I also found myself filled with questions and curiosity about other cultures, spiritual traditions, and healing modalities. Because of my family’s strong involvement in the church, I did not begin exploring spiritual development more openly until college. My days were spent immersed in coursework centered on research, data analysis, critical thinking, and evidence-based practice, while my evenings were devoted to yoga classes, oracle cards, and learning about mediumship and spiritual exploration. Rather than viewing these worlds as contradictory, I became fascinated by the possibility that both science and spiritual healing could coexist and complement one another.
Looking back, I realize that the integrative path was not something I intentionally pursued so much as something I naturally grew into. What sets me apart in the holistic field is my ability to honor both evidence-based practice and traditional healing modalities without dismissing either.
As a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, I provide therapeutic behavior support services grounded in science, research, and measurable outcomes. At the same time, I recognize that healing is deeply personal and often extends beyond what can be quantified alone. Many of my clients are seeking care that aligns not only with clinical best practices but also with their cultural beliefs, spiritual values, nervous system needs, and desire for deeper connection and meaning. Being able to bridge these worlds and provide truly integrative support is a privilege I consider.
In addition to behavioral services, I offer spiritual integration and holistic wellness services, including Reiki, mindfulness groups, community healing circles, oracle card readings, and mediumship sessions. My community circles often follow monthly themes inspired by the lunar calendar and astrological energies, creating intentional spaces for reflection, connection, and healing.
Looking ahead, my vision is to continue expanding a practice that integrates nervous system regulation, behavioral support, spirituality, and holistic healing into accessible and inclusive care.
This summer, I am especially excited to begin offering Reiki and nervous system support sessions at the beach, combining the restorative elements of nature with mind-body wellness practices. Long term, I hope to continue building community-centered healing spaces where people can feel supported in honoring both their mental health and spiritual well-being in ways that feel authentic to them.
Blue Monarch Healing was born from my own healing journey and a desire to create a space where people feel supported, seen, and able to slow down.
As a Reiki Master Teacher, I offer thoughtfully curated Reiki and energy healing experiences designed to help clients release stress, restore balance, and reconnect with themselves. My work is rooted in Usui Reiki, Holy Fire® Reiki, Karuna Reiki®, World Peace Reiki, and Lightarian™ Reiki.
What makes Blue Monarch Healing unique is my belief that healing should never feel one-sizefits-all. Every session is intentionally tailored to the individual, with attention to what may be needed physically, emotionally, and energetically. Depending on the client and their goals, sessions may incorporate Reiki, Symphony of Cells®, intuitive insight, plant and aroma Reiki, crystal support, and grounded nervous system care. Each element is selected with the purpose to create a calm, supportive environment where clients can settle, breathe, and reset.
One of the greatest privileges of this work is walking alongside clients over time and witnessing their transformation. Whether someone is seeking stress relief, emotional support, personal growth, or a deeper connection to themselves, I am continually inspired by the resilience and healing capacity of the people I serve.
Looking ahead, I hope to continue expanding Blue Monarch Healing through Reiki training, women’s wellness workshops, and communitycentered experiences that bring healing into everyday life. My long-term vision is to create a larger dedicated space intentionally designed for restoration, learning, and connection.
Blue Monarch Healing, LLC
Berlin, CT 860.978.1281
bluemonarchhealing.com
Lisa Marie Dunn Clean Beauty Wellness Spa
My name is Lisa Marie, and I am a Reiki Master and practitioner, a 500-hour Yoga Teacher Training graduate, and an instructor of meditation and pranayama. I believe healing should be gentle, inclusive, and accessible to everybody. I come to this work through lived experience, having spent much of my life in survival mode, navigating trauma, chronic stress, and a nervous system shaped by fight or flight. Through an abundance of personal healing, study, and practice, I have learned regulation, presence, and compassion while honoring that healing is ongoing rather than a fixed destination.
Offering Reiki in a salt room is an intentional choice. The mineral-rich environment supports relaxation and mindful breathing, creating a calming sensory experience.
Combined with Reiki, the salt room offers a space where the chakras can gently rebalance, from grounding the root chakra to opening the heart and clarifying the crown. Clients often leave feeling centered, supported, and energetically aligned.
I work with individuals seeking stress relief, emotional grounding, and nervous system support, including caregivers and those navigating life transitions. Reiki is not a medical treatment, but a nurturing complement that honors consent, choice, personal pace, and boundaries.
My vision is to create a space for creative art and healing where people can fully be themselves. This welcoming environment will invite creativity, expression, and rest for everyone, with or without limitations. Through traumainformed Reiki, meditation, yoga, and pranayama, this space will support empowerment, connection, and belonging, reminding everyone that they are whole, worthy, and always supported.
Lisa Marie Dunn
Clean Beauty Wellness Spa Shelton, CT
203.513.2565
cleanbeautywellness.com
The Water Wheel: Flow Into Healing
Our studio holds a peaceful energy, a gentle refuge where you can connect, heal, and simply be. Whether you’re new to the practices of Reiki and Yoga or continuing your journey, this safe and sacred space supports you exactly where you are.
Our vision is to create a nurturing space where individuals reconnect with their inner flow through various energy work modalities— restoring harmony in body, mind, and spirit.
Karen and Tricia met in 2022 and quickly became friends. During our conversations, we realized that we grew up in the same neighborhood in Terryville, CT. In fact, Karen remembers riding her bike and delivering newspapers to Tricia’s front stoop. Because of this connection, we decided to name our business after the historic Eli Terry Waterwheel located in Terryville.
In relationships, a water wheel represents how people can support each other by “pouring” their strengths and efforts into each other, achieving more than they could individually.
Spiritually, a water wheel symbolizes continuous motion, giving and receiving, and the connection to all things. It suggests the importance of trust and allowing oneself to be continually filled like the water that keeps the wheel turning. The wheel fills with water, is moved, and then empties itself, representing the pattern of being filled with grace to overflow and give to others. It depicts inner power being released to serve others.
The Water Wheel: Flow Into Healing Winsted, CT 860.309.8332 the-water-wheel.com
10Best Yoga/Pilates/Barre Studio 10Best Energy Healer
Whatbegan decades ago as a way to cope with the stresses that come along with a young family has blossomed into the greatest gift of my life. After years of teaching yoga in studios, the pandemic forced a pivot, and I began teaching on Zoom. Of course, I thought it would be temporary, but I still hold most of my classes online. What surprised me was that many people enthusiastically embraced the Zoom classes and were happy to stay there permanently. Travel and weather were no longer an issue, and yoga moved to the privacy and comfort of home, dressing any way we liked, listening to our own music, and even having our beloved pets next to us (usually hogging our mats)! People were able to join from all over the country regardless of where they lived.
Zoom yoga has been a gift to me, and I invite you to join me! I send Zoom Links a couple of times a month in a newsletter along with announcements of special classes and workshops I offer. Several times a year, I teach an in-person class at the Chi Healing Center in Canton. I welcome beginners and all fitness levels to my classes. I have a very practical approach, and my classes are gentle and mindful. If you’d like to receive my emails and links, please contact me at lesliewintergordon@gmail.com.
Duringmy decades-long career as a trial lawyer, I realized the amount of human suffering that attorneys, doctors, therapists, and others face can be overwhelming. The build-up of this toxic load took a huge toll on me, and I began my search for more holistic ways of coping. For over a decade, I have studied tai chi and yoga. In 2018, I became a Wim Hof Method Instructor as I realized the power of breathwork and cold exposure. For over four years now, I have offered yoga, breath work, and tai chi for my clients and have created a serene place, both inside and outside the office, to help provide them with coping skills. Organic herb, flower, and vegetable gardens that Leslie cares for, along with one Little FreeLibrary, bring joy to the New Britain community and to my staff and clients. Oh, and the guy in the middle is our Dog Star Rescue dog named Ghost (dogstarrescue.org). He helps, too. Take a listen to my Elven Star Podcast on YouTube and Spotify. This podcast highlights every day heroes that most folks don’t hear about. Please like and subscribe so I can continue to bring these amazing stories to light. www.youtube.com/@ElvenStarPodcast
A Noninvasive Way to Assess How Your Body Responds to Stress
By Dr. Brian Ruggiero, DC
I’ve“I began to see the body as more than structure—it is an interconnected system of energy, emotion, and lived experience. Every stressor, whether physical, emotional, or environmental, leaves an imprint.”
—Dr. Brian Ruggiero, DC
tried everything…and I still don’t have answers.” It’s something I hear often. Patients walk into my office carrying not just physical discomfort, but frustration, fatigue, and sometimes a quiet sense of discouragement after months—or even years—of searching for relief. They’ve undergone testing, seen specialists, and followed recommendations, yet something still feels unresolved. Over time, I’ve come to understand that the body is always communicating. The challenge is not whether it’s speaking, but whether we are truly listening.
Looking Beyond Structure
Early in my career as a chiropractor, my focus was primarily structural—alignment, movement, and restoring physical function. For many patients, that approach worked extremely well. But there were others whose symptoms persisted despite everything appearing normal. These cases pushed me to look beyond what could be seen on imaging or measured through traditional assessments. I began to recognize that there was another layer influencing the body—something deeper, more subtle, yet profoundly impactful.
A Turning Point
One patient in particular changed my perspective. She presented with persistent gluteal pain that did not respond to structural care. We addressed alignment, mobility, and muscular balance, yet her discomfort remained. It wasn’t until
we explored emotional stress and underlying energetic patterns that a shift occurred. As those layers were acknowledged and released, her physical symptoms began to resolve. That moment became a turning point, revealing that healing often requires us to look beyond the physical body alone.
From that experience forward, I began to see the body as more than structure—it is an interconnected system of energy, emotion, and lived experience. Every stressor, whether physical, emotional, or environmental, leaves an imprint. Over time, these imprints can influence how the body functions, often in ways that do not immediately present through conventional testing. This realization led me to incorporate the Qest4 Bioenergetic Scan into my practice to better understand these underlying influences.
What the Qest4 Scan Reveals
The Qest4 system offers a noninvasive way to assess how the body is responding to various stress patterns. Rather than diagnosing disease, it provides insight into areas where the body may be out of balance, whether related to environmental exposures, nutritional imbalances, or emotional stress. What I find most compelling is how often patients resonate with the findings. There is often a moment of clarity—a sense of “this finally makes sense”—that shifts their perspective from frustration to understanding.
Following the scan, a personalized tincture is created based on the body’s energetic priorities. This is not about forcing the body to change, but rather supporting its natural ability to restore balance. The tincture works in harmony with the body’s own intelligence, gently encouraging the release of stress patterns and promoting a more natural flow of energy.
From an energy healing perspective, this is where meaningful change can begin. When the body is no longer burdened by underlying stress, energy begins to move more freely. As that flow is restored, individuals often experience shifts not only physically but also emotionally and mentally. Patients frequently describe feeling lighter, clearer, and more grounded.
A Different Perspective on Healing
For me, this work goes beyond symptom management. It’s about helping individuals reconnect with their bodies and develop a deeper awareness of what they are experiencing. Healing doesn’t always come from doing more. Often, it comes from understanding more—becoming aware of the subtle signals the body has been expressing all along.
In 2026, I expanded this aspect of my practice into a dedicated space, Quantum Essence Integrative Healing, LLC. This allows for a more integrated approach, blending bioenergetic scanning with other forms of energy-based healing. The body rarely jumps straight to pain. It often begins with subtle signals—fatigue, tension, or a sense that something feels “off.” When we learn to recognize these early messages, we create the opportunity to restore balance before they evolve into something more significant.
The body is always speaking. The question is, are we ready to listen? And if we are, what might it be trying to tell us?
Dr. Brian Ruggiero is the owner of Ruggiero Family Chiropractic & Rehabilitation Center and Quantum Essence Integrative Healing in downtown Manchester, Connecticut. For over twenty-five years, he has been dedicated to helping patients move beyond symptom-based care by uncovering and addressing the deeper root causes of imbalance. Blending chiropractic, acupuncture, hypnotherapy, and bioenergetic approaches, his work supports healing across the physical, emotional, and energetic levels— guiding patients back toward balance, clarity, and overall well-being. To learn more or begin your healing journey, visit ruggierofamilychiro.com and quantumessencehealing.com. See ad on page 21 >
WAKING UP AT WORK?
WAKING UP AT WORK?
Your career is not "it" anymore, now what do you do?
Your career is not "it" anymore, now what do you do?
I work intuitively with you to blend the modalities that will best support you moving forward in this next chapter of your life.
I work intuitively with you to blend the modalities that will best support you moving forward in this next chapter of your life.
“A retreat is an immersive opportunity to grow and learn, spend time with kindred spirits, create a circle of trust and support, experience sacred sites and cultures, and heal.”
—Joyce St. Germaine, M.Ed., CHt., RYT-200
By Joyce St. Germaine, M.Ed., CHt., RYT-200
When I reflect on the most nourishing experiences I have had over the last decade or so, I realize that most have occurred while I was leading retreats. I often relive those moments that brought such inner joy. I can close my eyes, take a deep breath, and feel the warmth of a sweet horse enjoying his freedom in Costa Rica, resting his nose right on my heart and trusting me with his sacred breath. I can relive the honor of leading women in “The Rite of the Womb,” a shamanic ceremony to reclaim the pure creative essence of their wombs, before it began to store fear and pain. And I hear the drums or rattles of the men who held space for these courageous women in New Mexico. Spectacular sunrises over the Pacific Ocean, whose rays I used to recharge my favorite crystals, become vibrant again. Jungle birdsongs come alive, as does the sound of rain on thick, tropical leaves. Desert air warms my face with just a thought, and the sight of thunderstorms across the distant mountains of the American Southwest thrills me again. The view from the top of an ancient Mayan pyramid is breathtaking once more. Ocean, desert, mountains, jungle…all of it returns to fill my senses again. My inner and outer senses are equally revitalized.
Teaching and Learning
I wasn’t always such an avid traveler, but I craved a connection to the flora and fauna of an exotic location. When I was an art teacher, I would take a tiny tent and camp solo in the jungles of St. John, USVI. I would fall asleep to the sounds of the ocean, and each morning I would awaken to the sun filtering into my tent. There, on top of my tent, I would be greeted with the silhouette of a sleeping lizard, with whom I would have a daily conversation. On some days, he was my only companion. That sweet memory still makes me smile. It’s no wonder that my business logo is a lizard! That was many years ago, but it is deeply etched in my memory. I realize now that I was creating my own personal retreat.
Being a retreat leader or facilitator is an extension of teaching. Teaching invites learning, and learning invites a desire to learn more. Being a lifelong learner is a beautiful, never-ending cycle. Sometimes the classroom is more expansive and cannot be confined by four physical walls. A retreat is an immersive opportunity to grow and learn, spend time with kindred spirits, create a circle of trust and support, experience sacred sites and cultures, and heal.
More Than a Vacation
A retreat is not at all like an ordinary vacation. An opening ceremony on arrival night signals the formal retreat beginning. Mornings might start with a gentle yoga class, some energy medicine work, or a shamanic ceremony. Afternoons might include hiking to sacred sites, climbing Mayan pyramids or temples, or connecting with a herd of heart-healing horses in Costa Rica. Evenings might be spent in meditation or shamanic journeying, energetic cord-cutting, past life regression, palmistry, or dowsing with pendulums. A well-rounded retreat also includes some downtime…an invitation to journal, nap in a hammock, or visit a local marketplace.
Every place on earth holds a unique vibration and radiates it through the land, plants, minerals, animals, water, air, and people. Ceremonies and journeys are markedly different, often more noticeable closer to the equator. A change in elevation also creates an energetic shift. Human-made stone structures maintain the energetic integrity of the intentions behind their construction. When climbing an ancient Mayan pyramid in Belize or Guatemala, one becomes keenly aware of that ancient intention.
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For many people, a retreat is a gentle crossing from the ordinary rhythm of daily life into a deeper relationship with the self, the earth, and the unseen. Away from familiar routines, there is space to listen differently, breathe more fully, and recall what has been quieted by responsibility, grief, or busyness. In that sacred pause, transformation happens. What makes a retreat so empowering and transformational is how everyone experiences their time in a unique way and what they take home. Participants seem to receive exactly what they need, although few are aware of their needs in advance. Releasing, restoring, refilling, and recharging are common reactions, each a different form of healing. It is an honor to witness individual and collective healing on a retreat, especially when wrapped in the beauty of a new environment.
Joyce St. Germaine, M.Ed., CHt., RYT-200, is the owner of The Sacred Journey in Burlington, CT, and offers Shamanism and Energy Healing Practices, Sacred Sound Healing, Hypnotherapy, Past Life Regression, Cord-Cutting, Soul Retrieval, Extraction, Spirit Detachment, and Yoga. She leads monthly study groups, workshops, children’s events, and Shamanism/Wellness Retreats in Costa Rica, Belize, Santa Fe, Sedona, and throughout the US. Call/Text 860.675-9706, email jsgermaine@aol.com, or visit thesacredjourney.biz. See ad on page 19 >
WHAT IS YOUR BODY TRYING TO TELL YOU?
COMMON CONCERNS WE HELP INVESTIGATE
• Fatigue • Digestive Issues • Stress & Anxiety
• Sleep Dif culties • Hormonal Imbalances
Discover What Your Body Has Been Trying to Tell You
• Chronic In ammation •Unexplained Symptoms
Your body is always communicating. A Qest4 Bioenergetic Scan may help uncover hidden stress patterns that traditional testing often overlooks, so you can address the root cause and feel like yourself again. Scan
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Dr. Brian Ruggiero, D.C. Integrative Healing Practitioner
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When Movement Becomes Medicine
“Movement can be both powerful and gentle. It can energize us, ground us, awaken us, or help us feel safe in our bodies again.
—Rev. Joy M. Perugini
By Rev. Joy M. Perugini, Conscious Movement & Energy Medicine Practitioner and Shaman
Wehave been taught to move our bodies for all the wrong reasons: to shrink ourselves, to punish ourselves, to “earn” our food. To chase a number on a scale or an impossible standard of perfection. Movement became something transactional—disconnected from joy, intuition, healing, and even the body itself.
After more than 30 years in the fitness and wellness industry, I’ve seen firsthand how deeply many people long to reconnect with themselves in a more meaningful way. Beneath the surface of workouts and wellness trends, something deeper is often at play: exhaustion, burnout, stress, grief, disconnection, overwhelm, and nervous systems stuck in overdrive. And yet, I’ve also witnessed something beautiful when people are given permission to approach movement differently. Not as punishment. Not as performance. But as medicine.
That shift changes everything. Over the years, my work evolved from traditional fitness into something far more holistic and heart-centered. While movement has always been at the core of what I do, my path eventually led me deeper into yoga, mindfulness, energy healing, breathwork, meditation, and spiritual practices that reminded me of something essential: the body is not separate from the mind, emotions, or spirit. It is all connected.
The Body Holds Our Stories
Our bodies carry stress and tension. They store emotion. They whisper to us through tight shoulders, shallow breathing, fatigue, anxiety, and even a sense of disconnection from ourselves.
Too often, people believe they are failing because they cannot force themselves into rigid wellness routines, when in reality, many are simply overwhelmed and craving reconnection.
Sometimes the most healing thing we can do is slow down long enough to listen.
This is one reason yoga has remained such a powerful practice for so many people. Beyond the poses themselves, yoga invites awareness, presence, breath, and compassion. It teaches us to meet ourselves where we are rather than constantly striving to be somewhere else.
Healing Doesn’t Have to Look Intense
Sometimes healing looks like stretching on the floor after a long day. It might look like taking a deep breath before reacting, like dancing freely to your favorite song in the kitchen. Sometimes it looks like allowing yourself to rest without guilt.
Movement can be both powerful and gentle. It can energize us, ground us, awaken us, or help us feel safe in our bodies again. I often tell my students that movement is a conversation with the body. The question becomes: are we listening?
Many of us have become disconnected from our natural rhythms. We push through exhaustion, override our intuition, and wear burnout like a badge of honor. But the body eventually asks us to pay attention. When we begin to approach movement with curiosity rather than criticism, something shifts. We stop asking, “How can I change my body?” and begin asking, “What does my body need from me today?” That question alone can be profoundly healing.
Some days the answer may be strength and challenge. Other days it may be softness, stillness, or rest. Honoring those seasons, rather than fighting against them, creates a much more sustainable and compassionate relationship with wellness.
This philosophy has become the foundation of the work we do at Vibe Worldwide, Center for Movement & Healing Arts in Plainville. Whether someone joins us for yoga, dance fitness, Pilates Fusion, Stretch Therapy, meditation, or energy healing work, the intention is always the same: to create a space where people feel welcomed, supported, empowered, and connected—not only to their bodies, but to themselves and to one another.
Healing Can Happen in Community
There is something incredibly powerful about being in a room where people are encouraged to show up exactly as they are. No perfection required. No competition. Just human beings breathing, moving, growing, laughing, healing, and remembering they are not alone. In many ways, that sense of connection has become medicine too.
Especially in recent years, I believe people are craving spaces where they can exhale. Spaces where they can move without judgment. Spaces where wellness feels accessible, soulful, and authentic rather than performative.
The truth is, healing rarely begins with punishing ourselves into transformation. Often, it begins with compassion and presence. With one conscious breath, one gentle stretch, one song. One moment of coming back home to ourselves. At its best, movement is not just exercise. It is expression. Release. Energy. Prayer. Celebration. Healing. It is medicine. And perhaps now more than ever, we need that kind of medicine in the world.
At Vibe Worldwide, this is the heart of the work we do every day: creating space where movement becomes medicine and spirit meets the body.
Joy M. Perugini is a Conscious Movement & Energy Medicine Practitioner, ordained minister, and Shaman with more than 30 years of experience in the wellness field. She is the founder of Vibe Worldwide, a Center for Movement & Healing Arts in Plainville, Connecticut, where she integrates yoga, conscious movement, energy medicine, and spiritual practices to help people cultivate greater health, balance, and connection. Her work bridges science and spirit, empowering others to live with greater authenticity, vitality, and joy. Email info@vibeworldwide.us or visit vibeworldwide.us to learn more. See ad on page 29 >
Sleep Apnea: The Silent Disruptor of Health— and Why Early Evaluation Matters
By Tracy L. Cormier, DNP
“Early identification and treatment can reduce the risk of serious disease, improve daily functioning, and restore the body’s ability to heal and recharge.“
— Tracy L. Cormier, DNP
Sleep is often viewed as a passive activity, yet it is one of the most critical pillars of health. When disrupted—especially by conditions like obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)—the effects extend far beyond fatigue. Sleep apnea is a common but frequently undiagnosed condition that increases the risk of serious health issues, including cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, and cognitive decline. Early evaluation and treatment are key to protecting long-term health.
Sleep apnea is a disorder marked by repeated pauses in breathing during sleep. The most common type, obstructive sleep apnea, occurs when the airway becomes partially or completely blocked due to relaxation of throat muscles. These pauses can happen dozens—even hundreds—of times per night, lowering oxygen levels and disrupting sleep.
Many individuals are unaware they have it. Symptoms may include loud snoring, gasping or choking, morning headaches, daytime fatigue, and difficulty concentrating. Not everyone has obvious symptoms, making screening and evaluation essential.
The Cardiovascular Connection
Untreated sleep apnea significantly impacts heart health. Repeated oxygen drops trigger stress responses that increase blood pressure, inflammation, and strain on the cardiovascular system.
Sleep apnea is strongly linked to hypertension (often resistant to treatment), coronary artery disease, heart rhythm disorders such as atrial fibrillation, increased risk of heart attack and stroke, and heart failure.
For patients with existing cardiovascular conditions, untreated sleep apnea can worsen disease progression and reduce treatment effectiveness.
Other Impacts on Health
Sleep apnea also affects metabolic health. Disrupted sleep alters glucose regulation and insulin sensitivity, increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes. It also impacts hormones that control hunger, contributing to weight gain and making weight loss more difficult.
This creates a cycle: excess weight worsens sleep apnea, and untreated apnea makes weight management harder. Treating the condition can help break this cycle and improve long-term outcomes. Sleep is essential for brain function, memory, and emotional regulation. Chronic disruption from apnea can lead to difficulty concentrating, memory impairment, increased risk of anxiety and depression, and daytime sleepiness that affects performance and safety. In some individuals, untreated sleep apnea has also been associated with increased risk of cognitive decline over time.
Why Evaluation Matters
Because sleep apnea is often underdiagnosed, evaluation is critical. Many people attribute fatigue to stress or busy lifestyles, when an underlying sleep disorder may be the cause. Evaluation typically begins with a clinical assessment, including symptoms, medical history, and risk factors such as obesity, high blood pressure, and family history. A sleep study—conducted at home or in a lab—can confirm the diagnosis. Advancements in home sleep testing have made evaluation more accessible and convenient than ever.
Treatment Can Be Life-Changing
Sleep apnea is highly treatable. The most common treatment, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), keeps the airway open during sleep. Other options include oral appliances, positional therapy, weight management, and, in some cases, surgery. Patients who receive treatment often report improved energy, mental clarity, and quality of life. More importantly, treatment reduces the risk of long-term complications.
A Preventive Approach to Health
At its core, evaluating for sleep apnea is ultimately about prevention. Early identification and treatment can reduce the risk of serious disease, improve daily functioning, and restore the body’s ability to heal and recharge.
If you or someone you know experiences loud snoring, excessive fatigue, or difficulty staying asleep, it may be time for a sleep evaluation. Sleep is not a luxury—it is a vital component of whole-body health.
At TLC Healthcare Solutions, we believe that better sleep leads to better health. Through comprehensive evaluation and personalized care, we help patients uncover the root causes of fatigue and build a path toward lasting wellness.
Tracy Cormier, DNP, APRN, ANP-BC, is an Adult Nurse Practitioner and founder of TLC Healthcare Solutions in South Windsor, CT. With over 25 years of experience in cardiology and primary care, she delivers accessible, patientcentered care through Direct Primary Care, specialized cardiac services, and convenient home sleep evaluations. A champion for nursing leadership, Dr. Cormier is committed to empowering patients, improving outcomes, and restoring compassion and clarity to modern healthcare. Visit tlchealthcaresolution.com, email tlc.healthcare.solutions.dnp@gmail.com, or call/text 860.424.2174. See ad on page 55 >
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What Makes a Powerful Healer? Inside the Work of Agnes Daddona
“Your body holds the story. Your energy field holds the memory. Your soul holds the reason. I was given the eyes to see all three— and the divine connection to help you heal through them.”
—Agnes Daddona
By Agnes Daddona, Psychic Medium, Counselor, and Healer
For more than twenty years, I have worked as a psychic, medium, counselor, healer, and spiritual teacher, guiding thousands of people through readings, mediumship, angelic channeling, and healing. This gift runs in my family, and it has shaped everything about how I see people, how I listen, and how I help them heal. Over those years, I have come to understand what truly makes a healer powerful. It begins with what they can see.
There is a moment in every session I hold when everything shifts. The client has shared what they came to share. And then something opens, not in the conversation, but in the energy. I begin to receive information from their spirit guides, from the angels, from the divine guidance that surrounds them. And I can see what they could not, the real reason behind the pain, and what their souls are living through.
That is what makes a powerful healer, the ability to perceive the full picture of a person, body, energy, emotion, and soul, and to understand how it all connects. This is the gift I was given, and it is the foundation of everything I offer.
My Gift
When someone sits with me, I am present with them on every level. I listen carefully to their words, and I hold what they share with deep respect. But I am also receiving guidance beyond what the conscious mind can access. I see the aura. I read the emotional imprints of old traumas still living in the energy body. I perceive misalignments on the physical level that trace back to something unresolved within. And through the divine connection I carry, I receive insight into
what the soul is doing with all of it, the lessons it is working through, the growth it is reaching toward, and the healing it is ready to receive. This is what sets my work apart. The body, the emotions, the energy field, and the spirit are not separate systems. They are one living expression of the soul. And unless someone can perceive how they are all connected, the healing often stays on the surface. My gift allows me to see across all these layers at once and to understand the thread that runs through them. That is how I am able to help my clients not only feel better, but truly heal and transform.
This gift is supported by years of education, intuitive development, and a holistic approach that draws on multiple healing disciplines. My work includes psychic and mediumship readings, angelic channeling, energy healing, spiritual counseling, aura and chakra clearing, past life readings, soul contract readings, emotional release work, and guided meditation. Each of these allows me to meet my clients exactly where they need to be met. But it is the combination of all of them, guided by divine intelligence, that creates the depth and precision my clients experience.
My Approach
I do not simply apply one approach to every person. I listen, I receive, and I allow the angels and spirit guides to show me exactly what each client needs in that moment. That is the difference between following a process and being guided by something greater.
Your body holds the story. Your energy field holds the memory. Your soul holds the reason.
I was given the eyes to see all three—and the divine connection to help you heal through them.
I have sat with clients who arrived carrying a heaviness they could not name. And in one session, when I was able to show them how a childhood wound was connected to a physical condition, and how both were tied to a soul lesson they had never been shown before, something unlocked. Not because I told them what to do. But because I helped them see what their own soul had been trying to show them all along. And from that clarity, real healing began.
I have learned that healing is not always dramatic or immediate. Sometimes it arrives as a quiet recognition, a softening in the heart, a new understanding of an old pattern, or the feeling that a burden has finally been named and witnessed. When divine guidance brings the hidden pieces into the light, the client is no longer alone with what they have carried. They can begin to see themselves with more compassion, understand their journey with greater clarity, and open to the healing their soul has been preparing for all along. That is what a powerful healer does. She helps the person in front of her receive the healing, the release, and the transformation their soul is calling for. It is more than reading. It is more than insight. It is a sacred act of holding, seeing, and guiding someone back to wholeness.
At the heart of my work is trust in divine guidance, in the wisdom of the soul, and trust that healing unfolds in the way each person is ready to receive. My gift is helping each client remember the light, strength, and truth that have always been within them.
If you feel there is something beneath the surface that has not been fully reached, something your soul is waiting to heal, I want you to know that what you are sensing is real. And I would be honored to walk that path with you.
Agnes
Daddona, MA, Intuitive Counseling, is one of the best Psychic/ Mediums and healers in New England. The gift of intuition has run in her family for generations. For over twenty years, Agnes has worked with thousands of people worldwide through Psychic Readings, Mediumship, Channeling Angels, Counseling, Healing, and Teaching. Agnes has transformed many people’s lives to meet their dreams. She continues to solve the most difficult issues when no one else can help. Agnes offers in-person sessions in her spa in Avon, CT, and over the phone or via Zoom sessions worldwide. To book your sessions, contact Agnes at: AgnesDaddona. com, email: agnes@IntuitiveCounselingLLC.com, or call 860.941.2667. See ad on page 17 >
The Hidden Energy Drain: How Food Sensitivities Sabotage
Your Metabolism and Vitality
“The chronic inflammation from food sensitivities can trigger or worsen these conditions, creating a selfperpetuating cycle that’s difficult to break.”
—Dr. Dana Lapointe, ND
By Dr. Dana Lapointe, ND, LMT, CHt, CMWC
It’s 2 p.m. You’ve just finished a perfectly healthy lunch: grilled chicken salad on whole grain bread, a boiled egg for extra protein. Yet instead of feeling energized, your brain’s foggy, and you’re fighting to keep your eyes open. I hear this story almost daily in my practice, and can assure you, it’s not a caffeine deficiency.
What if the very foods you consider healthy are silently draining your energy, one bite at a time?
The Gut-Brain-Energy Connection
You might know, most neurotransmitters (those chemical messengers regulating mood, focus, and energy) are manufactured in the gut. But here’s what many don’t realize: when our digestive system is inflamed by foods we’re reacting to, neurotransmitter production breaks down and simultaneously disrupts our metabolic machinery. The result? Exhaustion and brain fog that doesn’t resolve with more sleep, and is often accompanied by resistant weight gain, and a host of other mysterious symptoms.
Unlike food allergies (IgE reactions), which can cause obvious symptoms within minutes, food sensitivities (IgG reactions) can take three to four days to manifest. This delay makes it nearly impossible to connect Tuesday’s brain fog with Saturday’s scrambled eggs.
Unfortunately, conventional medicine misses these delayed reactions entirely. While “allergy” specialists focus on immediate IgE responses, chronic, energy-draining IgG sensitivities fly under the radar, leaving countless people exhausted and frustrated.
When Your Favorite Healthy Foods Backfire
You might already know that frequently consumed foods can become problematic, but you might not understand why your body would turn
against your favorite foods. The trouble starts when your intestinal lining becomes inflamed and overly permeable—a condition we call “leaky gut.” The more often you eat a food while your gut is compromised, the more likely your immune system flags it as a threat. Eventually, your daily Greek yogurt or morning oatmeal leaves you feeling exhausted rather than energized.
Of course, food sensitivities aren’t always the only energy drain. Hidden blood sugar dysregulation, subclinical thyroid conditions, and hormone imbalances often work in concert with food reactions, creating a perfect storm of metabolic dysfunction. The chronic inflammation from food sensitivities can trigger or worsen these conditions, creating a self-perpetuating cycle that’s difficult to break.
I recently worked with a 44-year-old business owner who came to me exhausted, complaining of lost vitality. We identified hidden blood sugar issues and food sensitivities. Within weeks of following a comprehensive plan—including lifestyle changes, targeted supplementation, and strategic food rotation—he started losing excess weight, and his energy and zest returned.
While afternoon exhaustion might drive you to seek help, food sensitivities rarely stop there. The symptoms can be all over the map: persistent brain fog, unexplained joint pain, stubborn skin issues, and digestive complaints. Beyond physical symptoms, I’ve seen food reactions masquerade as focus issues, mood swings, anxiety, and sudden anger. I’ve had patients arrive with diagnoses ranging from ADD/ADHD to cardiac arrhythmias, from cluster headaches to GERD to cystitis.
What conventional medicine treats as separate conditions requiring multiple medications, from antianxiety medications to proton pump inhibitors, often turn out to be food sensitivities in disguise.
When we address the root cause, these symptoms frequently improve or disappear entirely.
Theoretically, we could identify food sensitivities through strict elimination-and-reintroduction diets. But realistically, spending months eating only obscure foods and then meticulously reintroducing a single food once a week isn’t practical for most adults. That’s why comprehensive IgG blood testing has become so valuable. Done right, it provides a clear list of reactive foods while leaving enough “safe” options for varied, satisfying meals.
The hope is significant: unlike true IgE allergies (potentially life-threatening) or intolerances (genetic enzyme deficiencies), food sensitivities can often be overcome. The key is working with a practitioner who understands these crucial differences and knows not just how to test, but how to heal the gut, optimize the microbiome, and implement proper desensitization protocols.
Some patients feel so energized after eliminating the reactive foods that they choose to avoid them permanently, often observing their body composition normalize naturally over time. Others miss their favorites and want them back. For these patients, I carefully help prioritize and “time” reintroductions to preserve healing gains while testing renewed tolerance. This delicate balance requires expertise. If you reintroduce too soon, you risk undoing months of progress.
Your afternoon energy slump isn’t inevitable. With the right testing, guidance, and commitment to healing, you can reclaim the vibrant energy that hidden food reactions have been stealing. Look for a practitioner who understands this complex relationship between food, inflammation, metabolism, and energy. Your soon-to-be-reclaimed, alert, energized self will thank you.
Dr. Dana Lapointe,“The Lifestyle Doc,” is a Connecticut-licensed naturopathic physician specializing in functional diagnostics, innovative, noninvasive treatments, and naturopathic care for chronic, degenerative, and inflammatory diseases. Practicing in CT since 2010, she’s been at the forefront of bringing StemWave therapy to her local community and holds advanced certifications in StemWave therapeutics for both acute and chronic musculoskeletal conditions. She’s known for her expert care in chronic gut, skin, and metabolic conditions, and provides mental wellness coaching for those seeking alternatives to pharmaceutical mental health interventions. She sees patients in the office and virtually, and offers remote health coaching and online programs. Call or text 860.217.1171 or visit SustainableHW.com See ad on page 27 >
Check in with Your Energy Instead of Your Mind
By Katie Cavenagh, Owner, Sacred Cocoon Healing
If you feel like you’re drowning in your life, can’t get ahead, or even get a grip, it might be more than a mindset obstacle you’re facing. Quite often, we do mind work and all the things we logically think we should do, but overlook one key factor.
The body remembers everything.
“For things to change, there needs to be both the willingness and the ability to receive. And that requires an energetic shift.”
—Katie Cavenagh
Energetic patterns you’ve activated hundreds of thousands of times are now part of the automatic program the body runs as “normal.” To change these programs, you need to interrupt the system that runs them. Neutralize the energy to release the attachment of thought to emotion, and set yourself free.
Understand Your Current Energetic Imprint
The energy you carry around an aspect of your life reinforces a story and pattern. Once embedded, it runs subconsciously underneath the surface and drives your behavior on autopilot.
Your words, thoughts, feelings, actions, and beliefs make up the energetic imprint of “you.” When you’ve consistently rehearsed an imprint, your everyday life reflects it.
For example, if you are experiencing a lack of money, what energy are you putting forth around your current (and future) situation?
If you continually speak and think about what you don’t have, you block the energy needed for it to come to you. When you say, “I can’t afford that,” or “I’ll never have enough,” you’re resisting the energy of “enough.” Feeling like money is bad, hard to
get, or is “for everyone but you” keeps you locked into the imprint of lack.
For things to change, there needs to be both the willingness and the ability to receive. And that requires an energetic shift.
Find the Imprint in Your Body
Every thought and feeling shares a connection that lives in your body. This is why when you remember something painful, you feel like it’s happening in the moment.
The brain and the body can’t tell what’s real and imagined. Each time you relive an experience, you strengthen the connection between a specific thought or emotion and a repeated response. Sitting with yourself in your “cringe” moments can be difficult and uncomfortable; however, nothing can be resolved if you’re not willing to feel your emotions.
When you bring up a past memory that’s painful, what do you feel in your physical body? Not thoughts surrounding the original moment, but actual physical sensations your body’s producing. This is a huge clue as to where the energetic imprint (story) lives. Paying attention to the physical side of the emotion, even without knowing what it is, allows the energy to unwind.
Change the Narrative
The more we repeat our old stories, the deeper they are set in. However, breaking the connection
by feeling into the emotion helps change the narrative.
You set yourself free when you can fully be with your emotions. When you “sit with it,” you’re effectively telling your body that it’s safe to feel what you feel (while it may not have been safe within the original experience). That safety of expression is what the emotion has been looking for. Once it’s resolved, the energy around that aspect of your life changes.
Telling your body that it’s safe changes the story and energy around the experience. Since your body remembers everything, it used to activate a survival pattern when in a similar situation. Now it can run a program where the threat has been neutralized.
Explore your feelings around your old stories. Ask yourself how old you feel. Then, write a new script that describes the experience, but now from your adult point of view. Put a new pattern in place that no longer holds the emotional attachment.
Swim to the Top
Remember, when you hold tightly to things, particularly emotions and thoughts, you attract more of the same to you. It’s energetic. So while you may consciously think one thing (I want to be happy), if your energy doesn’t read “I am willing to experience joy in this moment,” you’ll stay exactly where you are.
The shift does not have to be complicated. Sometimes it begins with one honest pause, one deep breath, and one willingness to notice what your body is actually saying. Instead of fighting the feeling or judging yourself for having it, you can meet it with curiosity.
That moment of awareness creates space, and in that space, the old pattern begins to loosen its grip. It only takes a moment of awareness to check in with what type of energy you’re holding around a particular thought, memory, or experience. Once you recognize where you are, you have the ability to change it.
Katie Cavenagh is a licensed hypnotist, spiritual mentor, and consciousness coach who leads you back to your power. Through various techniques, including NLP, sound healing, and psychic readings, she teaches how to create massive, lasting changes in life. Get right to the root of any challenge and walk away with a clear, actionable path to resolution. Free yourself of stagnant energy, imprints, and conditioning that keep you stuck. Ready to create and live a life you love? Text/call 860.655.5527 or email info@sacred-cocoon.com to schedule an in-person or online session. More at sacred-cocoon.com. See ad on page 23 >
“Healing is not simply the absence of disease. Healing occurs when the body, mind, and spirit are finally allowed to come back into balance.”
—Pamela M. Cipriano, DNP, APRN
Reconnecting Medicine to the Human Spirit
By Pamela M. Cipriano, DNP, APRN
Asa nurse practitioner who has spent decades practicing medicine, I have come to believe that healing is far more than prescribing medications or treating symptoms. True healing occurs when we address the whole person—body, mind, and spirit. Throughout my career in internal medicine, functional medicine, and the treatment of chronic inflammatory illnesses, I have witnessed something profound: many patients are not only physically exhausted but also energetically depleted.
Modern medicine excels in emergency interventions and lifesaving technology, yet it often overlooks one of the most important aspects of human health—the individual’s energetic and emotional state. Patients today are carrying immense burdens: chronic stress, trauma, inflammation, environmental toxicity, disconnection, and emotional pain. These burdens manifest physically in ways that laboratory tests do not always capture.
The Power of Energy Healing
Many years ago, I experienced this personally. I was in an unhealthy marriage, and my stress levels were off the charts. My body remained in a constant state of fight-or-flight, and eventually it reacted. I suffered from chronic migraine headaches, developed a blood-clotting disorder, experienced a stroke at just 26 years old, and developed cancer at 38. I found myself trapped in the medical merrygo-round—doctor after doctor, searching for answers while feeling increasingly disconnected from my own body.
Those experiences changed me profoundly. They led me toward the integration of energy healing, yoga, meditation, and nervous system regulation, not only in my professional practice, but in my personal life as well. Today, at 62 years old, I am healthier, stronger, and more emotionally grounded than I was in my twenties and thirties. That transformation taught me something modern medicine often overlooks: healing is not simply the absence of disease. Healing occurs when the body, mind, and spirit are finally allowed to come back into balance.
For centuries, Eastern medicine has recognized that the body possesses an energetic system that directly influences physical health. In yoga and Ayurvedic traditions, this life force is called prana. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, it is referred to as qi. While Western medicine has historically separated science from spirituality, emerging research in neuroscience, psychoneuroimmunology, and stress physiology is beginning to validate what ancient traditions long understood: chronic emotional and energetic imbalance affects the immune, nervous, and endocrine systems, as well as inflammatory pathways.
This is where yoga and energy healing can become transformational.
Yoga and Breathwork as Medicine
Yoga is often misunderstood in Western culture as simply exercise or stretching. In reality, yoga is a profound practice for the nervous system. Breathwork, movement, mindfulness, and meditation work together to shift the body out of sympathetic overdrive and into parasympathetic healing states. When patients begin practicing yoga consistently, I often observe improvements in sleep, pain levels, inflammation, digestion, heart rate variability, and emotional resilience. Energy healing adds another layer to the healing process. Many patients describe feeling emotionally “stuck,” disconnected, numb, or chronically overwhelmed. Human beings are electrical and electromagnetic by nature. The heart produces measurable electromagnetic fields. Brain waves shift during meditation and healing states. Touch, intention, frequency, sound, and emotional connection all influence human physiology. Trauma, chronic illness, toxic relationships, grief, burnout, and emotional suppression all create physiologic stress patterns that perpetuate inflammation. Patients take supplements, medications, antibiotics, or hormones, yet their bodies remain trapped in survival mode. Healing requires creating internal safety—physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Yoga and Energy Healing Help Patients
Reconnect with Themselves
Patients learn to listen to their bodies rather than fear them. They begin to recognize that healing is not always linear. They develop awareness of how stress, emotions, sleep, food, relationships, and thought patterns influence their symptoms. They begin to actively participate in their healing journey instead of feeling powerless in it.
This is especially important today. We are living in an era of unprecedented overstimulation and disconnection. Technology keeps us constantly activated. Social media fuels comparison and anxiety. People are exhausted, inflamed, sleep-deprived, and spiritually disconnected. As healthcare providers, we cannot ignore the emotional and energetic dimensions of wellness any longer.
Integrative medicine is not about rejecting conventional medicine. It is about expanding it. There are times when medications, surgeries, and advanced medical interventions are necessary and lifesaving. But there must also be room for therapies that restore balance, regulate the nervous system, reduce stress physiology, and reconnect patients to their inner resilience.
I believe the future of medicine will involve greater integration between science and holistic healing. We are already seeing growing interest in meditation, breathwork, vagal nerve stimulation, mindfulness, sound therapy, trauma-informed care, and mind-body medicine. Patients are seeking approaches that honor not only their physical symptoms but also their emotional and spiritual well-being. As clinicians, we must remember that healing is both an art and a science.
The human body possesses an extraordinary capacity to heal when given the proper support, environment, nourishment, and connection. Sometimes healing begins not with another prescription, but with stillness, breath, movement, compassion, and the restoration of hope.
In a healthcare system that often feels rushed and fragmented, helping patients reconnect to their own inner healing power may be one of the most important forms of medicine we can offer.
Pamela M. Cipriano, DNP, ACNP-BC, is a nurse practitioner specializing in internal medicine, functional medicine, and complex chronic illnesses, including Lyme disease, mold toxicity, and autoimmune disorders. She is the founder of The Practice of Health and Wellness in Thomaston, Connecticut, an ILADS-trained Lyme specialist, national speaker, and award-winning clinician dedicated to educating patients and providers about the hidden manifestations of tick-borne diseases. See ad on page 4 >
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A Different Way to Understand Nervous System Regulation
By Kerry Martin, RN, Certified Health Coach, Wise Concierge Wellness
The term “nervous system regulation” has become a popular phrase in the wellness world. It’s everywhere: social media, podcasts, books, and coaching programs. But many people still aren’t exactly sure what it means. Most people think nervous system regulation means feeling calm all the time. It doesn’t. In fact, you can be highly dysregulated and not know it. You can be successful, productive, constantly busy, helping everyone else, checking every box, and still be living from a nervous system that is stuck in survival mode.
I’ve seen this in my work as a registered nurse, health coach, and wellness practitioner. I’ve also lived it myself. Many of us have become so accustomed to stress that it feels normal. We don’t realize how much energy we’re spending simply trying to hold ourselves together. Understanding your nervous system may be one of the most important things you ever do for your health.
What Is the Nervous System?
Your nervous system is your body’s communication network. It constantly gathers information from the world around you and decides whether you are safe or unsafe. This process happens automatically and largely outside of conscious awareness. Long before you think about something, your nervous system has already assessed it. If it senses safety, your body can relax, heal, digest food properly, think clearly, connect with others, and access creativity. If it senses danger, your body prepares for survival.
This survival response is not a flaw. It is brilliant. The problem occurs when the nervous system gets stuck in survival mode long after the threat has passed. Many people assume survival mode looks like panic attacks or extreme anxiety. Sometimes it does. But often it looks much more subtle. It can look like constant busyness, difficulty relaxing, trouble sleeping, overthinking, feeling responsible for everyone, perfectionism, chronic people-pleasing, irritability, emotional numbness, exhaustion despite rest, difficulty making decisions, or always feeling behind,
You may not feel anxious. You may simply feel driven. You may tell yourself: “I just like to stay busy.” “This is who I am.” “I’ve always been this way.” The truth is that many coping strategies begin as intelligent adaptations to stress. Eventually, those adaptations become our identity. We stop noticing them.
You Can Be Dysregulated and Not Know
One of the most important things I teach clients is that dysregulation is often invisible. A person can appear highly functioning while their nervous system is working overtime. Many people have spent years operating on adrenaline. The body becomes so familiar with stress hormones that calm can actually feel uncomfortable. When life finally slows down, they become restless. They start another project. They pick a fight. They scroll endlessly. They create more stimulation because stillness feels unfamiliar.
Approach What It Is
Somatic Awareness Learning to notice sensations in the body without judgment.
Somatic Experiencing®
Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP)
A body-based approach developed by Dr. Peter Levine that helps people gently release stress and survival energy that may remain in the nervous system after dif cult experiences.
A listening therapy developed by Dr. Stephen Porges based on polyvagal theory. Specially ltered music is used to help the nervous system become more receptive to feelings of safety and connection.
Breath Awareness Using intentional breathing to communicate safety to the body.
Nature Connection
Human Design
Grounding Practices
Spending intentional time outdoors and engaging with the natural world.
A self-awareness system that explores energy patterns, decisionmaking styles, and natural ways of interacting with the world.
Techniques that bring attention back to the present moment and the physical body.
Mindful Movement Gentle movement practices that increase awareness of the body.
Social Connection
Spending time with people who feel safe, supportive, and authentic.
How It Helps the Nervous System
Helps people recognize stress signals before they become overwhelming and builds awareness of what safety feels like in the body.
Supports the nervous system’s natural ability to return to balance and resilience. Can help reduce chronic stress, overwhelm, anxiety, and feelings of being “stuck.”
Supports regulation of the autonomic nervous system, social engagement, emotional regulation, and resilience to stress.
Can help calm the stress response, improve focus, and increase body awareness.
Nature often provides cues of safety that help the nervous system shift away from constant vigilance and into restoration.
Can help people identify areas where they may be pushing against their natural energy patterns, reducing unnecessary stress and burnout.
Helps interrupt stress spirals, overthinking, and feelings of overwhelm.
Encourages the completion of stress responses while promoting exibility and regulation.
The nervous system is designed to regulate through healthy connection with others.
What It Might Look Like
Noticing tight shoulders, a racing heart, or a relaxed feeling in the chest and simply observing it with curiosity.
Working with a trained practitioner to notice body sensations, resources, and nervous system responses in a slow, manageable way.
Listening to customized music through headphones under the guidance of a trained provider.
Taking slow, gentle breaths and extending the exhale slightly longer than the inhale.
Walking in the woods, sitting near water, gardening, or observing birds and wildlife.
Learning how you naturally make decisions, manage energy, and relate to work, relationships, and life.
Feeling your feet on the oor, holding a warm cup of tea, or noticing ve things you can see around you.
Walking, stretching, yoga, tai chi, or gentle dancing.
Meaningful conversations, laughter, community gatherings, or time with trusted friends and family.
Key Takeaway
Nervous system regulation isn’t about becoming calm all the time. It’s about increasing your capacity to move through life’s challenges while remaining connected to yourself. Tools like Somatic Experiencing, the Safe and Sound Protocol, Human Design, nature, and mindful awareness can help us understand when we’re operating from survival mode and gently guide us back toward safety, resilience, and balance.
Many people are dysregulated without realizing it. The rst step isn’t xing yourself—it’s becoming aware of how your nervous system has been working hard to protect you all along.
The nervous system is not necessarily seeking peace. It is seeking familiarity. If chaos is familiar, the body may unconsciously recreate it. This realization can be life-changing.
Regulation Is Not Perfection
Nervous system regulation does not mean being calm all the time. Healthy nervous systems move. They expand and contract. They experience stress and recovery. They feel excitement, grief, anger, joy, disappointment, and love.
Regulation means being able to move through life’s experiences without becoming trapped in them. Think of a healthy tree. It doesn’t resist every storm—it bends in the wind, moving and returning to center. The human nervous system is designed similarly. The goal is flexibility, not perfection.
A Somatic Approach
The word somatic simply means relating to the body. Most of us try to solve stress from the neck up. We analyze. We think. We talk. We reason. While insight is valuable, the nervous system speaks the language of sensation. This is why someone can understand their stress intellectually yet still feel overwhelmed physically. The body needs its own pathway toward safety. Somatic approaches, such as those in the table above, help us learn to listen to the body’s signals and gently support the nervous system. This might include slowing down to notice sensations, tracking tension and relaxation, developing awareness of triggers, or learning how safety feels in the body. The goal isn’t to force relaxation, it is to create enough awareness that the body can begin returning to balance naturally.
Why Nature Matters
One of the simplest and most overlooked tools for nervous system regulation is nature. Nature operates at a different pace from modern life. Trees don’t rush. Seasons don’t compete. Animals don’t measure their worth through productivity. When we spend time in nature, we often begin remembering our own natural rhythms.
Research continues to show the benefits of spending time outdoors, but many people don’t need research to know it works. They can feel it. Their breathing changes. Their shoulders drop. Their thoughts slow and perspective widens. Nature provides a direct experience of regulation. This is one reason it is such an important part of my work.
Human Design and the Nervous System
One of the tools I use alongside somatic approaches is Human Design. Human Design is not a medical system. It is not a diagnostic tool. Rather, it offers a framework for understanding how different people may be naturally designed to use energy, make decisions, and move through life.
Small Changes Create Big Results
The good news is that nervous system regulation does not require a complete life overhaul. In fact, the nervous system often responds better to small, consistent changes. Five minutes of quiet breathing. A short walk outside. A few moments of noticing your feet on the ground. Learning to pause before saying yes. Honoring your need for rest. Listening to your body’s signals.
These simple practices may seem insignificant. Over time, they create profound change. The nervous system learns through repetition. Each small moment of safety becomes a message. The message is: “You are okay.” “You don’t have to stay on high alert.” “You can rest now.”
Coming Home to Yourself
Perhaps the most beautiful aspect of nervous system regulation is that it is not about becoming someone new. It is about returning to who you were before stress, expectations, and survival patterns pulled you away from yourself.
“Long before you think about something, your nervous system has already assessed it. If it senses safety, your body can relax, heal, digest food properly, think clearly, connect with others, and access creativity.”
—Kerry Martin, RN-CHC
What I find fascinating is that many people spend years trying to live in ways that are inconsistent with their natural energy patterns. This often creates enormous stress. For example, some individuals are designed to work in bursts, while others have more sustainable energy. Some are designed to wait for clarity before making decisions. Others are designed to trust instinct in the moment. When people consistently ignore these natural tendencies, they often experience frustration, exhaustion, confusion, or burnout.
Human Design can help identify areas where someone may be pushing against their natural way of operating. When combined with nervous system awareness, it becomes a powerful conversation. Not because Human Design has all the answers, but because it helps people ask better questions:
• Am I forcing myself into a role that doesn’t fit?
• Am I overextending my energy?
• Am I trying to be someone I’m not?
• Am I living according to outside expectations instead of inner wisdom?
These questions often reveal significant sources of nervous system stress.
The Importance of Self-Awareness
One of the greatest gifts of nervous system work is awareness. Many people believe their symptoms are the problem. The symptoms are often messengers. The body is communicating. Fatigue, anxiety, chronic tension, or sleep disruption may be communicating.
Rather than asking, “How do I get rid of this?” we can begin asking, “What is this trying to tell me?” That shift changes everything. The body moves from being an enemy to becoming an ally.
Many of us have spent years trying to fix ourselves. What if we don’t need fixing? What if we simply need to reconnect? Reconnect with our bodies. Reconnect with nature. Reconnect with our authentic energy. Reconnect with the wisdom that has been inside us all along.
The nervous system is not just about stress management. It is about learning how to live in a way that feels sustainable, authentic, and aligned. When we begin listening to the body instead of fighting it, something remarkable happens. We stop surviving. And we start living.
In my practice at Wise Concierge Wellness, I use a unique blend of clinical understanding and holistic modalities, such as Somatic Approaches and Human Design. I specialize in guiding people who are overwhelmed, burnt out, or feeling stuck to break free from old survival patterns and reconnect with their authentic energy. My approach focuses on practical nervous system tools, intentional self-awareness, and identifying areas where you may be pushing against your natural design, so you can build a confident, aligned, and sustainable way of living.
Kerry Martin, RN-CHC, is a registered nurse and holistic health coach and the founder of Wise Concierge Wellness in Woodbury, Connecticut. She works one-on-one with clients to help them understand how they live, identify where they are out of balance, and gently recalibrate their lifestyle through nature-based practices, nervous system support, and personalized insight. Email kerry@ wiseconciergewellness.com, call 203.405.1616, and visit wiseconciergewellness.com to learn more.
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When You Can See What You Want but Cannot Reach It
By Lauri Ingram
Iknew something more was waiting. I could feel it beneath the promotions, the full calendar, the life that looked exactly as it should from the outside. There was a quieter voice asking me to slow down and listen. Eventually, I started moving toward something different. Slowly, carefully, the way you do when you’re not quite sure you’re allowed to want what you want. I could see the life I was meant for. I just couldn’t fully step into it. Every time I got close, something in me would quietly reset.
Then came the breast cancer diagnosis. A wakeup call that I could no longer find a way around. But here’s what I didn’t expect: even after the diagnosis, even with every reason in the world to change, I still needed something more than intention. I needed my system to actually expand to hold the life I was finally ready to claim.
What I understand now is that the problem was never clarity. It was capacity.
Most of us think of being stuck as a thinking problem. We assume that if we could just get clear enough, motivated enough, or strategic enough, we’d finally move. So we read more, plan more, journal more. But what if the obstacle isn’t in your thinking at all? What if your body, your nervous system, your energy field, simply doesn’t have the capacity yet to hold the life you’re reaching for?
Think about streaming a movie on a slow connection. The film exists. It is fully available. But if your bandwidth can’t carry it, all you get is the spinning wheel—buffering, never quite loading. The problem isn’t the content. It’s the capacity of the connection. This is what I see most often in the people I work with. Not confusion. Not lack of desire. A genuine knowing of what they want and a system that keeps resetting before they can get there.
Claire* came to me knowing exactly what she wanted. A new career she’d been circling for three years. Conversations she hadn’t let herself have. A version of herself she could picture with clarity.
“I’m not afraid of the work,” she told me. “I just can’t seem to make myself do it.”
She’d reframed it a hundred times. Set goals, hired coaches, built plans. And still she found herself back at familiar ground.
What Claire didn’t yet know was that her nervous system had a set point, an energetic baseline it kept returning her to, regardless of how much her conscious mind wanted something different. Not because she was broken. Because her system hadn’t been shown yet, it was safe to expand.
Energy Healing Does Something That Thinking Cannot
Modalities like EFT tapping and hypnotherapy don’t work on your goals. They work on your system. EFT tapping interrupts the stress signals stored in the body’s pathways, sending the nervous system a message it rarely gets: it’s safe here. Hypnotherapy reaches beyond the analytical mind to the subconscious layer where old limits reside, creating space for a new story to take root. Together, they don’t just change what you think; they change what your body believes it can hold.
Add spiritual direction, the practice of deep, discerning listening, and you begin to hear what is yours to become, beneath the noise of expectation and old identity. Add conscious coaching, and that emerging self has a plan.
Claire didn’t need a better plan. She needed her system to catch up to what she already knew. Once it did, the movement came naturally. Just finally, genuinely available.
My diagnosis didn’t give me new information. It gave me new urgency. The work gave me a new capacity. And in that reset, I could receive what I’d been circling for years.
You don’t have to wait for a wake-up call to find that stillness. If something in you already knows, if you can see it, feel it, almost taste it, but can’t quite reach it, the gap isn’t in your thinking. It’s in your capacity.
*Name changed to protect client privacy.
Lauri Ingram is a Life and Well-Being Coach specializing in hypnosis, spiritual exploration, and mindfulness-based change work. www.lauriingram.com. See ad on page 19 >
“Most of us think of being stuck as a thinking problem. We assume that if we could just get clear enough, motivated enough, or strategic enough, we’d finally move.”
—Lauri Ingram
When the Body Finally Speaks
How releasing inherited emotional energy unwound
30
years of pain— a real story of what happens when a woman finally stops carrying what was never hers.
By Jacqueline Kane, LMT
She walked into my office the way so many high-achieving women do—polished, composed, and holding decades of emotional weight in a body that could no longer carry it.
At 62, Margaret had lived a life most people would admire. Forty years as an attorney. Sharp. Capable. Always the one people leaned on. And for thirty of those years, her lower back had been screaming.
She had tried everything: physical therapy, injections, chiropractic, massage, and medications. Each one helped for a moment…and then the pain returned, like a truth she couldn’t outrun. What she had never explored was the emotional and ancestral weight sitting underneath the pain.
When we first spoke, she described her life with the calm efficiency of a woman who long ago stopped expecting anyone to ask how she was doing. She was caring for her aging mother, managing appointments, emotions, and the daily phone calls that weren’t about need but about habit and control. Her sister was preparing for surgery, and without hesitation, Margaret had already planned the caregiving, the logistics, the emotional labor.
No one asked if she needed support. And truthfully, she didn’t ask herself either. This is what happens to women who were raised to be caretakers before they were ever allowed to be children.
As we worked together, it became clear that Margaret’s exhaustion didn’t begin in adulthood. It was inherited and passed down through her family system like an unspoken contract.
Her mother grew up with an alcoholic parent, a childhood marked by hypervigilance, emotional instability, and a deep fear of doing anything “wrong.” She never healed her own wounds…so she handed them to Margaret. Not intentionally. Not maliciously. But inevitably.
Margaret learned early: Be responsible. Be perfect. Don’t need anything. Don’t interrupt. Don’t make waves.
Her needs were an inconvenience. Her feelings were a disruption. So she tucked them away—into her muscles, her fascia, her nervous system. Then one memory surfaced, revealing the entire pattern.
Margaret was a young girl, watching her little sister while her mother was on the phone. Her sister began eating playdough, a normal, silly childhood moment. Margaret did exactly what a responsible child would do: she went to get her mother.
Her mother didn’t respond with concern. She responded with anger. Not at the situation, but at Margaret. She had interrupted. She had “caused” the problem. She was wrong no matter what she did.
And in that moment, as all children do, Margaret made meaning out of the chaos. Her mind formed beliefs to help her survive: “I’m the problem. Everything is always my fault. I have to fix things. I have to make Mom happy. My needs cause trouble. I must be perfect to be safe.”
These weren’t conscious thoughts. They were survival codes. And once a child forms a belief, the mind spends a lifetime proving it true.
So Margaret became the fixer: the responsible one, the emotional shock absorber, the one who held everything together. And her body carried the cost because suppressed emotions don’t disappear, they reroute.
For Margaret, they became chronic low back pain, neck and shoulder tension, fibromyalgia-like flares, and exhaustion that no amount of sleep could touch. Her body was doing the job her voice never could: expressing everything she had been forced to swallow.
Every time she ignored her own needs, rushed to soothe her mother, absorbed her sister’s chaos, or abandoned her own family to manage someone else’s emotions, her body tightened, her muscles braced, her nervous system stayed on high alert.
Her husband often asked, “Why do you drop everything for them but not for us?” She didn’t have an answer. She only knew the pull toward her mother’s needs felt stronger than her own life because the child inside her still believed, “If I don’t take care of Mom, something bad will happen.”
So she ran to her mother’s house, to her sister’s crises, and toward the chaos she was programmed to manage. She ran away, unintentionally, from her own family, her own rest, her own joy. Her pain was the physical manifestation of decades of emotional over-responsibility.
In our early sessions, we didn’t start with mindset or talking. We started with the body and with the inherited emotional energy she had been carrying for decades: Her mother’s resentment, her grandmother’s chaos, the family’s unprocessed grief, and the belief that she had to hold everything together.
As we named it, acknowledged it, and separated her from what she had absorbed, something shifted. It wasn’t dramatic. It was quiet. Precise. Deep.
For the first time, Margaret allowed herself to feel the truth of her younger self, the child who tried to do the right thing and was punished for it. She realized that she was never the problem. She was a child in a system that didn’t know how to support her.
Then something remarkable happened. Just days after that very first session, her mother, who had called every single day for decades, suddenly stopped the frantic phone calls. Four full days of silence—not from crisis or withdrawal, but because the energetic pattern had shifted.
Margaret was stunned. “This hasn’t happened in decades,” she said.
For the first time in her adult life, she felt a spaciousness she didn’t know was possible. A break. A breath. A moment where she wasn’t being pulled, needed, or emotionally managed.
“I know she’s fine,” she said. “She’s well taken care of. But this…this feels like relief.”
And her body responded immediately. Her chronic daily low back pain, the pain she lived with for thirty years, began to decrease. Her neck wasn’t seizing the way it used to. Her fibromyalgia-like flares softened.
The shifts didn’t stop with her pain. For the first time in years, she was sleeping through the night. The restlessness that used to jolt her awake, the buzzing, bracing, hypervigilant energy she had lived with since childhood, began to dissolve.
“I didn’t realize how exhausted I was,” she told me, “until I finally felt what rested feels like.”
With rest came something she hadn’t felt in decades: energy. Real, steady, grounded energy, not the adrenaline-fueled over-functioning she had lived on for years.
As her body softened, her boundaries strengthened. She began taking small steps to stop the lifelong pattern of people-pleasing. She paused before saying yes. She checked in with her own needs. She allowed herself to rest without guilt. She even said “no” to something her sister asked and survived it.
The more Margaret spoke up for herself, the more her mother and sister began noticing her needs and her limits. Noticing her humanity.
“It’s like they’re suddenly aware I’m a person, not a machine,” she said.
This shift created space for something she never imagined possible: moments of genuine connection with her mother. Not caretaking. Not managing. But actual shared moments of lightness, humor, even a little fun.
“I’ve never had fun with my mother,” she told me. “Not once. Until now.”
This is what happens when a woman stops carrying the emotional weight of an entire family system. Her body heals, her relationships recalibrate, and her identity reorganizes around truth instead of trauma.
Margaret is not just feeling better; she is becoming someone new: rested, seen, supported, and free. She came to me looking for relief from physical pain. What she is discovering is her own wholeness. And that is where true healing begins.
Jacqueline Kane, LMT, is on a mission to show people how they can get healthy, stay healthy, and take control of their health once and for all. Whether it’s back pain, chronic physical and emotional ailments, or just a feeling that “something isn’t right,” Jacqueline gets you out of pain and into your life so you get the relief you’ve been chasing. Check out her upcoming Energy Medicine Solution Retreat. If you’re ready to reach your health and wealth goals today, visit www.JacquelineKane. com. See ad on page 43 >
“Margaret’s
exhaustion didn’t begin in adulthood. It was inherited and passed down through her family system like an unspoken contract.”
—Jacqueline Kane, LMT
Belonging Is Medicine: Why We Keep Repeating Relationship Patterns
By Ray Beyor
Whatif the greatest source of stress in your life isn’t your workload, finances, or schedule, but a relationship pattern your nervous system learned decades ago?
A while back, a client came to me frustrated because they couldn’t stop thinking about someone. The relationship wasn’t ending. Nothing terrible had happened. Yet every time a text took longer than expected, they found themselves checking their phone, replaying conversations, and wondering if they had done something wrong.
Secure attachment is not perfection. It is the ability to experience difficult emotions and still communicate, repair, negotiate, collaborate, and stay connected to yourself. Understanding these patterns helps us recognize what our nervous system has learned and whether those strategies still serve us today.
The Chemistry of Familiarity
“Through
awareness, supportive relationships, emotional regulation, and intentional practice, we can create new experiences of safety and build greater security over time.”
—Ray Beyor
As we explored what was happening, it became clear that the stress wasn’t really about the text message. The text message was simply activating something much older. And that’s often how relationship patterns work.
Many of us think we’re reacting to what’s happening right now. In reality, we’re often reacting to what our nervous system learned long ago about connection, safety, belonging, and love.
Research in attachment theory suggests that many of these patterns begin forming between birth and approximately age eight, when connection is essential for survival. During those years, our brains and nervous systems learn powerful lessons from the people caring for us. Those lessons influence how we approach trust, conflict, vulnerability, boundaries, and relationships throughout life.
Understanding Attachment Styles
One of the most useful places to begin is by understanding your attachment style, not as a label or diagnosis, but as a form of awareness.
Attachment styles are survival strategies that help explain why we do what we do, who we tend to be attracted to, and what relationship dynamics feel familiar. Anxious attachment often seeks reassurance and fears disconnection. Avoidant attachment may prioritize independence and fear dependence. Fearful-avoidant attachment often longs for connection while fearing the very closeness it seeks.
One of the most important things I teach clients is this: The nervous system doesn’t necessarily choose what is healthiest. It often chooses what is most familiar. If inconsistency felt familiar growing up, it may feel attractive later in life. If love felt conditional, you may find yourself working hard to earn it. If vulnerability feels unsafe, you may pull away from the very connection you want.
Many people discover that what they thought was compatibility was actually familiarity. What many people don’t realize is that these patterns are not just emotional. They are chemical.
Consider intermittent reinforcement, the unpredictable cycle of connection, distance, attention, and withdrawal. A loving text after days of silence, a moment of closeness after conflict. Attention arrives after you’ve spent days worrying.
This back-and-forth attention and withdrawal produces dopamine spikes, the brain chemical associated with anticipation and reward-seeking. Over time, we can mistake the intensity of uncertainty for the feeling of love itself. People find themselves repeatedly attracted to unavailable partners or caught in cycles of limerence and emotional dependency.
Hypervigilant behavior, seeking any sign of danger, kicks in as the recipient of intermittent reinforcement goes through the emotional roller coaster of hope, fear, uncertainty, and relief. Cortisol and adrenaline, the fight-or-flight stress hormones, help regulate the body and guard against threats.
The result is that stress can start to feel familiar, and familiarity can start to feel like attraction.
The Chemistry of Secure Connection
Healthy relationships tend to feel boringly calm to those used to the addictive rollercoaster of trauma-bonded relationships. They are usually less dramatic, less confusing, and more consistent. While they may not produce the same adrenaline rush as uncertainty, they foster something far more healing: safety.
When we experience emotional safety, trust, and reliable connection, our nervous systems begin to settle. The body produces more oxytocin, often called the bonding hormone, which supports trust and social connection. Oxytocin can also help support serotonin, a neurotransmitter associated with calm, stability, belonging, and well-being. Endorphins, our body’s natural comfort chemicals, can be released through secure attachment behaviors such as safe nonsexual touch, laughter, matching breath patterns, meaningful conversations, and moments of genuine attunement.
As time goes on, these experiences teach the nervous system something many of us never learned growing up: Connection can be a source of safety rather than a threat.
Where Healing Begins
The encouraging news is that attachment patterns are not life sentences. Through awareness, supportive relationships, emotional regulation, and intentional practice, we can create new experiences of safety and build greater security over time.
To start the process of healing, ask yourself: What relationship causes me the most stress right now? What attachment pattern might be showing up? Am I experiencing safety, or am I chasing relief from anxiety?
Healing can begin when we stop judging ourselves as “damaged” and start recognizing that many of our patterns are simply our nervous system’s best attempt to keep us safe.
Belonging isn’t something we earn by finding our place in the world. Belonging grows when we learn the skills to stay connected to ourselves and to others. These skills include recognizing our needs, communicating honestly, setting boundaries, navigating conflict, regulating emotions, and building relationships rooted in trust rather than fear.
The deepest form of belonging isn’t fitting in; it’s knowing you can be authentically yourself and still stay connected. That is why belonging is medicine.
Ray (they/them) is the founder of RAY Life Coaching LLC and creator of the Confidence Coming-Out Course. Their work blends nervous system regulation, consent practices, and lived experience to help queer and polyamorous clients build embodied confidence and sustainable, whole-life health. See ad on page 25 >
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5 Keys to Energizing Your Morning
By Sharon Sklar, BFA, LMT, CAR
“At first, I just wrote down what came to mind, and then I learned about the “formula” for setting my intentions into the Universe. Gratitude is so magnificent.”
—Sharon Sklar, BFA, LMT, CAR
Mornings are a special time when we can either organize ourselves, harness our thoughts, and ease into the day, or just jump out of bed and get there on time. I am not one of those people who can pop up, scramble around, have their morning coffee, and rush to work. I have chosen the path of daily practices that allow me to focus and consciously unfold into the magic of my time ahead.
Five Keys
I have developed five keys to starting your day with energy and positivity before turning on phones and screens:
Key 1: Try some conscious writing to connect to your well-being.
Key 2: Try some gentle exercise or stretching to awaken your body.
Key 3: Try to live in a quiet and screenless environment for the first 20–30 minutes.
Key 4: Get outside and take a walk or a jog, breathe the fresh air.
Key 5: Hydrate with water and nourish yourself with protein.
A few years back, I started a new set of morning rituals that evolved over time and set my day in a positive direction. These rituals ignite my spirit and last all day. I have studied with many different
teachers and pulled their best practices into my early waking hours. This is what works for me. Hopefully, you’ll give yourself a gracious start and find out what works best for you.
Key 1: Conscious Writing
The first thing I do when my alarm goes off is sit up in bed and turn on the light. I grab my journal and begin to write ten “gratitudes” that harness my thoughts into what I am thankful for in this moment. At first, I just wrote down what came to mind, and then I learned about the “formula” for setting my intentions into the Universe. Gratitude is so magnificent.
Rhonda Byrne, author of “The Secret” and the wonderful book, Magic, teaches readers to use the power of gratitude to transform their lives. The book offers a 28-day guide to manifesting joy, health, wealth, and happiness by focusing on gratitude. The formula is “I am so grateful for _______ because _______. Write it down, say it out loud, then say “Thank you” three times. It sets it out there in the Universe.
If there is still room on the page, I write some affirmations. “I am loving.” “I am kind.” “I am generous,” and so on. It begins my day with thought, manifestation, and such joy that I am alive and ready to set out on my new adventures.
Key 2: Gentle Exercise
The next thing I do is my bed stretches. I designed 6 easy stretches to be done right there in bed to awaken my body to the flow I have created by writing and going within. My body warms up, shakes off the morning stiffness, and gets me going. (These stretches are available on my website, SharonSklarRolfing.com, and sign up on my mailing list. They will be sent to your email.)
Key 3: The Sound of Silence
By spending my first twenty to thirty minutes in silence, I ease into the new day with inner value and positivity. It’s a far cry from the blasting television or checking my phone. I get my dogs and cats going and have plenty of cuddle time!
Key
4: Get Moving
I complete my personal bathroom tasks, then I get dressed. I look forward to walking my dogs because I get moving and breathe in the earlymorning air. I say my prayers as we walk. I love these early-morning walks because there are not many cars or people around. The air is fresh, and I totally wake up as I breathe deeply, invigorating my lungs and loosening my joints. Motion is lotion. When I get moving, my body feels alive and ready for my busy day. That’s the point—energy begets energy. Who needs coffee?!
Key 5: Hydration and Sustenance
Checking my emails, feeding my animals, doing office tasks, and reviewing my client cards all happen before I eat my breakfast. When I start seeing clients, I am awake, alive, and ready to roll. These morning rituals stay with me all day because they lay a foundation on which I greet the day and whatever comes my way. I urge you to tune in to yourself and tune out the noise by savoring those early morning moments. Become awake to yourself. Try it, you might like it!
Sharon Sklar is in her 45th year of private practice as a Certified Advanced Rolfer. She has been voted one of Natural Nutmeg’s 10BEST Bodyworkers for the last seven years and is very grateful for that confidence and support. Sharon works with direct manipulation of the soft tissue of the body and movement re-education over a ten-session series to help her clients feel freer, get more balanced, and reduce chronic pain. Great for athletes, children, and adults recovering from life’s stress, injuries, or trauma. Inquiries are encouraged! State Licensed. Call 860.561.4337 for more info or to schedule a consultation. SharonSklarRolfing.com See ad on page 45 >
Jacqueline Kane
Are you experiencing chronic physical pain that keeps returning after PT, chiropractic, massage, injections, or surgeries?
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My back pain is gone, my stress has lifted, & I feel lighter & happier than I have in years. As soon as I released the emotional weight, my energy shifted — & my business began thriving with ease & new opportunities flowing in.
- Katie W.
Room to Breathe: Energetically Aligning Your Space and Spirit
“When we intentionally shift our surroundings, we break up old, stagnant energy and make literal room for new growth.”
—Mary Grace Peak
By Mary Grace Peak, Founder of Energy and Grace
Weoften think of healing as an internal process, something that happens on a yoga mat, a meditation cushion, or a Reiki table. We focus on the breath, the mind, and the spirit, treating our physical environment as a mere backdrop to our personal evolution. But as both a Reiki energy healer and a certified Feng Shui interior decorator, I have come to see that our homes are far more than just physical shelters. They are energetic mirrors. There is a profound, silent conversation happening every day between who we are and the space we inhabit.
When we feel stuck in our lives, we often find that our physical environment is stagnant. Perhaps there is a guest room filled with boxes we have not opened in years, or a furniture layout that feels cramped and heavy. Or you own furniture that was passed down from generations before you. Those all carry energy. You cannot truly heal the inhabitant without addressing the sanctuary as well. To find lasting wellness, we must bridge the gap between our internal energy and our external surroundings.
The Home as a Living Energy Field
As a Reiki practitioner, I work with the flow of lifeforce energy within the body, identifying where stagnation is preventing a person from feeling their best. As a Feng Shui consultant and decorator, I do the exact same thing, just on a larger scale. I look at a floor plan the same way I look at an aura: Where is the light moving? Where is it being trapped? What physical structures or furniture pieces are impeding the flow of energy? Is this color suitable for those who live and rest here?
Our homes soak up the energy of our experiences. If you have gone through a period of intense stress, illness, or grief, that frequency can linger long after the event has passed. This is why you might feel
exhausted even after a full night’s sleep, or why you feel a sense of heaviness the moment you walk through your front door.
Redecorating, in this context, is not just about aesthetics, fabric swatches, or following the latest trends; it is a physical ritual of release. When we intentionally shift our surroundings, we break up old, stagnant energy and make literal room for new growth. We are telling the universe, and ourselves, that we are ready for a new chapter.
The Person-Home Connection
The relationship between a person and their home is symbiotic. When we are in a state of transition, our homes may reflect the in-between. We might have furniture that belonged to an ex-partner, colors we chose during a different phase of life, or layouts designed for a lifestyle we no longer lead. I beieve we should heal the person while reenvisioning the space. I often start by asking my clients: Does this room support the person you are becoming, or is it anchoring you to who you used to be?
If your environment is cluttered or outdated, it acts as a constant, subtle drain on your subconscious. By clearing the slate and redecorating with intention, we create a supportive feedback loop. A refreshed room provides clarity, making it easier to maintain a high-vibrational state of mind.
Practicing the Ritual of the Reset
If you feel ready to align your home with your current spirit, you do not need a full renovation to start. You can begin with three intentional shifts that combine the practical with the metaphysical: Practice the “gratitude release”: Before you remove an old chair, clear out a closet, or take down a piece of art, take a moment to acknowledge its presence. Items often hold memory, and we feel
guilty letting them go. By thanking the object for its service during a previous chapter of your life, you clear the emotional guilt. This transforms the act of redecorating from a chore into a healing transition.
Clear the frequency with sound: Sound is one of the fastest ways to shift a room’s vibration. Before I begin a new design project or after a major decluttering session, I use sound frequency tools, such as a singing bowl, a chime, or even a mantra, to reset the air. I focus specifically on the corners of the room, where energy tends to pool and settle. It clears the slate so that your new design is not sitting on top of old, heavy echoes.
Identify your “sacred anchor”: Every home needs a focal point for peace. Choose a small corner to be your high-vibration zone, and curate it with intention: a comfortable seat, a plant for vibrant life-force energy, and colors that soothe you. This becomes your sanctuary within the sanctuary: a place where your energy is automatically recalibrated the moment you sit down.
Small changes can shift the energy of a space in meaningful ways: Opening windows to invite in fresh air and sunlight, clearing clutter, incorporating plants, lighting candles, using calming scents, or creating a quiet corner for rest and reflection can transform how a home feels.
A Harmonious Connection
When we align our space and our spirit, we create a person-home connection that supports our wellness twenty-four hours a day. We move away from the idea that a home is just a place to store things, and toward the realization that it is a living partner in our journey.
Design and healing are natural partners. When we combine the visual harmony of interior decoration with the energetic alignment of Feng Shui and Reiki, we create a space that supports us on every level. This integrated approach ensures that our homes are not just aesthetically pleasing but also spiritually resonant. It is my passion to help people create sanctuaries where the room’s physical beauty and the inhabitant’s peaceful energy move in perfect sync.
Mary Grace Peak is a certified Feng Shui Consultant, Interior Stylist, Reiki II practitioner, and Founder of Mary Grace Peak and Co. Her work blends energetic healing with intuitive design, helping clients create aligned, soul-nourishing spaces that support personal evolution. Through private healing and decor consultations, sacred space styling, and a curated wellness shop exclusive to clients, she guides individuals ready to transform not only their environments but also their lives. Learn more at energyandgracedesigns.com. See ad on page 47 >
The Conversations We Never Had
By Susan Cote, CLC
“Most of us were never taught how to communicate honestly and lovingly. We make assumptions instead of having the deeper conversations that relationships require.”
—Susan Cote, CLC
For over twenty years as a birth doula, I witnessed something profound: people do not grow when life feels comfortable. Growth happens when we open, speak honestly, and ask for what we truly want. We are constantly going through transitions in our lives. Whether they are planned or catch us by surprise. They are opportunities for positive change.
That truth led me into relationship coaching. Not just romantic relationships, but all relationships— with partners, children, parents, coworkers, friends, and most importantly, ourselves.
Many people are walking through life holding onto conversations they do not know how to initiate. They are afraid of being misunderstood, of being seen as asking for too much, or of having ideas that are just too different.
It seems easy at first to carry resentment instead of communicating what they feel and think. Over time, it comes at a great cost. Resentment erodes even the most compatible relationships. They have learned at some point to fear deep and honest conversations.
Unspoken Truths
One of the most common things I hear is: “I don’t want to upset them.”
So people stay quiet. They overgive, avoid conflict, and slowly disconnect from themselves
as they try to keep the peace. But peace built on silence is not real peace.
Over time, unspoken truths, both positive and negative, create distance. I know this deeply because I had to learn it myself.
When I was eight years old, my brother died suddenly in a car accident. I had so many things that I wished that I had told him. So many things were left unsaid. He was my older brother and my biggest hero. I looked up to him and had never said a word about it. I thought that I had a lifetime to say it.
I went on to have other losses, and they shaped my understanding of life and relationships forever. They taught me that we are not guaranteed more time. Now is the moment to say the thing. Now is the moment to live honestly.
Over time, I learned to build relationships rooted in both commitment and freedom. It did not happen magically. Over time, I gained the tools and self-awareness to co-create the kind of relationships that I truly desired—ones where I feel deeply connected and fully free at the same time.
Step out of Your Comfort Zone
What would you change in your relationships if you could? What if you had the support and courage to step out of your comfort zone and into what you truly desire?
That is the work I help others do through Everyday Harvest.
I work with people who are craving more joy, more connection, and more confidence. Many people appear successful on the outside but silently feel disconnected, anxious, and resentful. They want to stop walking on eggshells. They want the confidence to express their needs without fear. Most of us were never taught how to communicate honestly and lovingly. We make assumptions instead of having the deeper conversations that relationships require.
My coaching begins with a 90-minute “Cup of Clarity” session where we identify an area of life or relationship that is ready for change. Together, we define what that change looks like and what may be standing in the way.
I often ask: What are you willing to release to create the life you want? Avoidance? People pleasing? Fear? Staying small? Because nothing we truly want is inside our comfort zone. Sometimes the first brave step is simply naming what is no longer working. When we say the truth out loud in a safe space, it begins to lose its power over us. From there, we can stop reacting from old patterns and begin choosing with more clarity, compassion, and intention. That is where real relationship growth begins.
Clients often tell me they feel seen, safe, and free from judgment. They leave with real communication tools, greater confidence, and a renewed sense of hope. Many discover that when they finally begin living in alignment with what they truly desire, self-sabotaging behaviors naturally begin to fade.
One of my favorite reminders is this quote from Wavy Gravy: “We are all bozos on the bus.” So many people believe everyone else has life figured out. But the truth is, we are all learning as we go.
You do not need to have everything figured out before asking for support. You simply need the courage to begin.
If you are craving deeper connection, more honesty, a sense of freedom, or more joy in your life, I invite you to reach out. You deserve relationships where you can fully be yourself.
Susan Cote, owner of Everyday Harvest LLC, is an aromatherapist and certified life coach and was voted one of the Natural Nutmeg 10Best Coaches of 2024. Susan offers group and private coaching, as well as aromatherapy consultations and certification workshops using Wisdom of the Earth medicinal-grade essential oils. Contact Susan at info@everydayharvest.com. See ad on page 33 >
LDN: The Little Pill That’s Changing Lives
By Dr. Tamara Sachs, MD
Let“Brain-pain retraining techniques are often important in healing chronic pain. So is addressing trauma, grief, and emotional scars.”
—Tamara Sachs, MD
me tell you about my patient, Belinda. She came to me after years of bouncing between specialists. She had Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, an autoimmune disease where the immune system attacks the thyroid, along with fibromyalgia and pain that made everything hurt and kept her up at night, plus brain fog so bad she could barely function at work. She was 46 years old and felt 80. She had tried everything. Nothing had helped much.
When we added low-dose naltrexone to her plan, something shifted. Not overnight, and not from LDN alone, but the pain began to ease. And that changed everything.
Belinda is not unique. I have seen versions of her story dozens of times over the past 23 years.
What Is LDN?
Low-dose naltrexone, or LDN, is an old medication being used in remarkable new ways.
Naltrexone has been around since the 1980s. At high doses, it was used to treat opioid addiction. It works by blocking the part of the brain that responds to opioids, which is why it helps people recover from addiction.
But at very low doses—we’re talking about a fraction of the original dose—something interesting happens. The drug behaves completely differently.
LDN is not a narcotic. It is not addictive. It does not make you feel high or sedated. It is not an immune suppressant.
Think of it more like a gentle reset button for an immune system that has forgotten how to calm down.
Your Immune System Has an Alarm
Imagine your immune system controls a fire alarm system, like the one in your house. Normally, the alarm sounds when there is real danger, such as infection or injury, or you burned the toast, and then quiets down once the problem is solved.
But in autoimmune and chronic inflammatory conditions, the fire alarm can become oversensitive. It keeps firing even when there is no true emergency. Over time, that constant alarm starts to damage the body, including the joints, skin, thyroid, gut, nerves, and brain.
Most treatments for autoimmune disease try to silence the alarm by suppressing a part of the immune system—essentially ripping out the batteries. That can help, but it also leaves you vulnerable because now your alarm won’t work when you need it.
LDN tries to do something different. Instead of suppressing the alarm system, it helps retrain it, so it goes off when it should and quiets down when it should.
How Does It Work?
Your body makes its own natural calming signals all the time. These signals help regulate inflammation and keep your immune system from going haywire. Here is where LDN does something clever.
When you take LDN, it briefly and gently blocks those natural calming signals for just a few hours. Your body sees there isn’t enough and responds by making more. As the LDN wears off over the
following hours, your body has ramped up its own natural calming signals—more than it was making before. The result is a stronger, healthier immune-regulating system.
LDN also works on inflammation in the brain and nervous system, as well as the skin and the gut.
There are specialized immune cells in the brain called microglia. When they get overactivated, they release chemicals that cause pain, fatigue, brain fog, poor sleep, and mood problems. LDN appears to help calm overactivated brain cells as well as the nerves that carry pain signals.
Mast cells are inflammatory cells found in the skin, gut, and nervous system that release histamine and inflammatory chemicals. LDN may help stabilize mast cell activity, which may be part of why it helps with psoriasis, IBS, and some allergytype inflammatory symptoms.
Nerd Box: The 3 Receptors Behind LDN
• OGFr (opioid growth factor receptor): A receptor involved in immune regulation and tissue repair. LDN briefly blocks it, stimulating the body to increase its own healing and balancing signals afterward.
•TLR4 (toll-like receptor 4): An inflammatory “alarm” receptor found on immune cells, including brain immune cells, and inflammatory cells in the skin and gut. LDN appears to calm this pathway, which may help reduce neuroinflammation, immune overactivation, and inflammatory skin conditions like psoriasis.
•Opioid receptors (mu, delta, and kappa): The receptors involved in endorphins, pain relief, and narcotics. LDN briefly blocks them, which may trigger the body to produce more of its own natural endorphins afterward.
Who Might Benefit?
I consider LDN in all patients with autoimmune disease, any chronic pain syndrome, and several other chronic, hard-to-treat conditions.
In many patients, but not all, I see real improvement. Not just in symptoms, but in lab markers as well. In Hashimoto’s, for example, thyroid antibodies often drop by half after 6 to 12 months. That tells me something is changing in the way the immune system is behaving, not just in how the patient feels.
LDN fits beautifully into a whole-person approach. It does not replace nutrition, movement, sleep, stress reduction, trauma work, or deeper investigation into root causes. Instead, it may help lower the volume on pain and inflammation enough for a person to participate in their own healing again. For many patients, that little bit of relief is not little at all. It is the first opening they have had in years.
ADAM BREINER, ND STEVEN MURPHY, MD DAVID BRADY, ND, CCN
ELENA SOKOLOVA, ND JOHN D'ANGELO,
“Most treatments for autoimmune disease try to silence the alarm by suppressing a part of the immune system— essentially ripping out the batteries.”
—Tamara Sachs, MD
What Does the Research Say?
The honest answer is promising, but sadly, limited. Most importantly, studies have consistently shown that LDN is remarkably safe.
Side effects are uncommon, and when they do happen, usually vivid dreams, mild insomnia, or brief nausea, they tend to go away as the body adjusts.
The evidence for effectiveness varies by condition. Some studies show meaningful benefits. Others show more modest results. This doesn’t surprise me, because most studies group many different conditions together and use the same dose for everyone, and LDN really needs to be adjusted individually.
It’s also worth noting that LDN is inexpensive and has no funding for research, which means large clinical trials are hard to find. The absence of big studies does not mean it does not work. It means there are no incentives to run those studies.
Research is a map, not the road. The map matters. But when there is no map, you evaluate the benefits and risks and pick a path. Chronic pain is a terrible disability. Autoimmune disorders are increasing at an alarming rate. Current medical treatments leave too many with bad or no options.
One Important Caution
Because LDN temporarily blocks opioid receptors, LDN should not be taken with opioid pain medications. These are things like oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, tramadol, or morphine. You can easily stop LDN if, for example, you need surgery and might need narcotic pain medications for a short time. But in general, folks on chronic narcotic pain medication should not take LDN.
LDN does not interact with ibuprofen, aspirin, acetaminophen, or any other common medications, nor with any supplement.
Back to Belinda
The last time I saw Belinda, she was training for a half-marathon.
Yes. The woman who was in chronic pain was training for a half-marathon. But I want to be clear, LDN did not do that alone. It played a big part but was also a catalyst.
Because her pain eased, she could sleep a little better. When she slept a little better, she had a clearer mind and more energy. And when she had slightly more energy, she could start doing the things she needed to do to regain her health and, in turn, her strength. The things chronic pain, fatigue, and brain fog had made impossible, she was able and willing to do.
She started cooking real food again, adding colorful plant foods she hadn’t been able to manage before. We added concentrated whole-food plant powder, magnesium, vitamin D, and other nutrients she needed to rebuild after years of pain and exhaustion. It’s hard to take good care of yourself if you are hurting every day.
LDN opened the door. Belinda walked through it. I consider LDN one of my three favorite and most underused and underappreciated treatments for chronic pain and inflammation. The other two are photobiomodulation therapy (such as cold laser and red light) and cannabis-based therapies. None of them are narcotics. None of them suppress the immune system. All three are safe when used properly and can be life-changing for some patients.
But to be clear, none are stand-alone treatments. In my work, I cannot overstate the vital importance of nutrition, sleep, movement, and, when possible, the aggressive addressing of the underlying causes of pain. Brain-pain retraining techniques are often important in healing chronic pain. So is addressing trauma, grief, and emotional scars. The value of personalized medicine is obvious when I think of the many patients with chronic pain I have seen over the years.
LDN won’t work for everyone. Some patients notice very little change. But many experience meaningful, lasting improvement.
Ask your doctor. LDN requires both a prescription and a compounding pharmacy. It will not be covered or reimbursed by insurance. Fortunately, it is around $30 per month once the correct dose is established.
When a treatment is safe, inexpensive, and rooted in real biology—and when I have watched it change lives for more than two decades—I think we should be talking about it.
If you have been struggling with chronic pain or an autoimmune disease and feel like you’ve run out of options, know that there may still be doors worth trying.
Tamara Sachs, MD, is a Mount Sinai–trained physician who completed her Internal Medicine training in New Haven, CT. She began her career in molecular biology, followed by years in emergency and primary care medicine. Since 2003, she has focused exclusively on Functional Medicine, seeing patients and lecturing frequently. Functional Medicine & Integrative Care LLC. 1 Booth House Lane, New Milford, CT 06776. Call 860.354.3304, email mail@ tsachsmd.com, and visit tsachsmd.com to learn more. See ad on inside front cover >
Melissa Wooldridge Breton,
10Best Holistic Center/School
Iam Melissa Wooldridge Breton, a board-certified family nurse practitioner, advanced holistic nurse, functional medicine nurse consultant, integrative health and wellness nurse coach, yoga instructor, Reiki Master, and sound emissary.
I have dedicated my life’s work to the art and science of nursing. My gift is caring personally and caring professionally. Listening with heart, having compassion, and by combining advanced holistic nursing with ancient wisdom traditions, I am able to meet you wherever you are on your healing-growth-recovery journey, heart-mind-body-spirit.
As a board-certified nurse practitioner, I partner with you to navigate the root causes of your imbalances through alternative and complementary healing modalities, embracing holistic assessment, functional medicine nursing, sound immersion, energy healing, and mindfulness-based coaching strategies. I guide you in connecting deeply with your own innate healing intelligence. My approach models whole-person-centered care, attending to your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual dimensions of what health, wellness, and healing mean for you.
My private practice, ECLIPSE Holistic Living, Glastonbury, is the container that holds space for this mission and vision. ECLIPSE is a cocreative healing arts studio, a sacredness of place for you to come and enter in your most authentic form to join in community with other women, like-minded practitioners, artists, and luminaries. My door is always open at ECLIPSE, which has been purposefully curated using a neutral color palette, raw materials, and hardwoods to bring the outdoors inside. Every detail invites grounding, expansion, and belonging. You are welcome here to explore, discover, heal, restore, renew, repattern, learn, and grow. My intention is to embrace you in a nurturing, compassionate environment where you feel seen, heard, and power-FULL!
Healing is not linear; it is a spiral dance of remembering who we are. Supporting you on your path, I approach each moment with gratitude, reverence, and an open heart. I look forward to walking alongside you as we both evolve in our human-becoming!
Your Breasts Are Speaking—Are You Listening?
By April Beaman, RDH, CTT
Energy is not abstract. It is biological, measurable, and constantly communicating. Your body runs on it, your cells respond to it, and your breasts—rich in lymphatic flow, vascular supply, and hormonal sensitivity—are especially responsive to energetic shifts.
“The goal isn’t to eliminate all stress or achieve perfect symmetry; the goal is resilience, the ability of your body to adapt, recover, and maintain balance.”
—April Beaman, RDH, CTT
When we talk about breast health, most people think in structural terms: tissue, density, cysts, and hormones. That’s only part of the story. Beneath structure is function, and beneath function is energy. If you ignore the energetic layer, you miss the earliest signals your body is trying to send. This is where energy healing and thermography intersect in a powerful, often overlooked way.
Let’s break it down.
When Energy Stagnates
Your body is electric. Every cell carries a charge, your nervous system fires through electrical impulses, and your heart emits an electromagnetic field that extends beyond your physical body. When this energy flows freely, systems communicate efficiently, and when it becomes stagnant or dysregulated, dysfunction begins, often quietly at first.
The breasts are particularly vulnerable to this kind of stagnation. Why? Because they sit in a crossroads of emotional, hormonal, and lymphatic activity. They are not isolated structures; they are deeply connected to the chest wall, the heart center, the endocrine system, and the lymphatic drainage pathways that clear waste from the body.
When energy gets “stuck,” it can show up as congestion in the breast tissue. This doesn’t always mean something is immediately wrong, but it does mean something is changing. And change is exactly what you want to detect early.
Thermography steps in here as a window into function. Unlike structural imaging, thermography looks at heat patterns. It measures infrared emissions from the body, essentially mapping where inflammation, vascular activity, or asymmetry may be occurring. It doesn’t label or diagnose, it reveals patterns.
Think of it as a functional snapshot of what your body is doing, not just what it looks like. Inflammation generates heat, increased blood flow does as well, and neurological irritation can create heat. These thermal patterns often appear long before structural changes develop.
This is where the connection becomes compelling. Energy disruption often precedes physiological change, and thermography detects the physiological response to that disruption. In other words, energy healing addresses the cause, and thermography helps visualize the effect.
Balanced vs. Blocked Energy
When energy is balanced, circulation improves. When circulation improves, lymphatic drainage becomes more efficient, and when lymph flows properly, the body is better able to clear toxins, reduce congestion, and regulate inflammation.
But when energy is blocked, you may see areas of increased heat due to inflammation, asymmetry between breasts, and patterns that suggest vascular stress or lymphatic stagnation. These are not random findings; they are signals.
Stress is a major disruptor of energetic flow. Chronic stress shifts the body into a sympathetic state, blood flow is redirected, hormones shift, detoxification slows, and muscles tighten, including those in the chest and surrounding the breasts. Over time, this creates a perfect storm for stagnation.
Now layer in lifestyle factors, tight bras restricting lymphatic flow, shallow breathing limiting oxygenation, sedentary habits reducing circulation, and environmental toxins adding to the body’s burden. It adds up.
Energy Healing and Thermography
Energy healing works by interrupting that cycle. It brings the nervous system back into a parasympathetic state, rest, repair, restore. It encourages deeper breathing, relaxes tissue, and improves body awareness. And awareness
is powerful—most women are not taught to tune into their breasts beyond occasional self-exams. But your body is constantly giving feedback, subtle sensations, areas of tenderness, changes in temperature, and shifts in texture. When you combine that awareness with thermographic imaging, you create a proactive approach to breast health.
You’re no longer waiting for something to go wrong. You’re observing patterns, tracking changes over time, and supporting your body before issues escalate. This is not passive healthcare; it’s active participation.
Imagine seeing a thermographic image that shows increased heat in a specific area of the breast. Instead of fear, you have information, and you can respond intentionally. You might increase lymphatic movement through dry brushing or gentle massage; incorporate energy healing sessions to address underlying stress patterns; focus on breathwork to expand the chest and improve circulation; and evaluate emotional factors, as the body doesn’t separate physical and emotional experiences. Everything is connected.
Over time, follow-up thermography can show whether those interventions are helping regulate the pattern. This is feedback in real time. It’s not about perfection; it’s about awareness, consistency, and course correction.
Energy healing is often dismissed because it’s not always visible, but just because something isn’t seen doesn’t mean it isn’t measurable. Thermography bridges that gap; it translates invisible processes into visible data. And when you see it, you can’t unsee it. You begin to understand that your body is dynamic, that health is not a fixed state, but a constantly shifting balance. The goal isn’t to eliminate all stress or achieve perfect symmetry; the goal is resilience, the ability of your body to adapt, recover, and maintain balance.
Breast health is not just about tissue; it’s about flow. Flow of energy, flow of lymph, flow of blood, and flow of communication between systems. When that flow is supported, the body functions better. When the body functions better, it signals earlier, and when you listen earlier, you respond earlier. That’s where the power is.
April Beaman, RDH, CTT, is a certified medical thermographer with the Professional Academy of Clinical Thermology and a professional member of Breast Thermography International. Beaman has worked in the wellness industry for over 15 years and provides medical thermal imaging for both women and men. She is the founder of CT Thermography, located in Farmington, with satellite offices throughout CT and MA. Connect at 860.415.1150 or CTThermography.com. See ad on page 27 >
Elevate Your Wellness Mindset: How to Embrace Self-Care and Thrive
“Are you craving more time with your kids? A better work-life balance? More free time for creativity in your week? Let those desires guide your wellness plan.”
—Kevin Ramsey
By Kevin Ramsey, Body Care Innovation Manager
Dayafter day, juggling endless to-dos tends to blur together as you desperately count down to the next weekend or vacation. But when you’re always waiting for a break to feel better, it’s easy to miss the moments that make life meaningful right now.
Cultivating a wellness mindset encourages a shift in how you approach your day. Instead of pushing yourself to do more, allow yourself to live with greater intention. This involves more than just lighting the occasional candle or squeezing in a yoga class when things get stressful. It’s a conscious, ongoing choice to care for your whole self—mind, body, and spirit—every single day.
This isn’t about chasing perfection or quick fixes. When you adopt a positive behavioral health mindset, you’re saying yes to self-care with habits and routines that nourish you, helping you grow into the most grounded, energized version of yourself.
Benefits of a Wellness Mindset
When you commit to wellness, something shifts. You’re more present in your body. You’re calmer when faced with chaos. Even small choices, made consistently, can create a ripple effect that transforms how you feel from day to day.
Here’s what you can expect when you embrace a wellness mindset:
• Less stress, more emotional balance. You aren’t just reacting to stressors as they come, you’re responding.
• Better focus and clarity. Your energy goes where it matters.
• A stronger, more resilient you. Mentally and physically, you’re better equipped to handle what life throws your way.
You can’t just stumble into a wellness mindset. It’s something you build with intention in small, incremental steps over time.
Your first move is to be honest with yourself. Consider: What’s keeping me from feeling my best right now? What current habits or patterns are making my self-care feel short-lived or inconsistent?
Try journaling or even just thinking through a few grounding questions:
• When do I feel the most energized and alive?
• What drains me, even if I feel that it shouldn’t?
• Where in my day do I have space for self-care, and where do I need more support?
From there, set specific, measurable goals that feel doable for your life, not someone else’s. Maybe that means committing to a weekly stretch session, putting some phone-free, wind-down time on your calendar, or moving your bedtime up by 30 minutes. Connect those goals back to what you truly value. Are you craving more time with your kids?
A better work-life balance? More free time for creativity in your week? Let those desires guide your wellness plan. That way, it’s not just a routine, it’s a reflection of what matters most to you.
5 Tips for Embracing Your Wellness Mindset in Daily Life
Once you’ve set your intention, it’s all about followthrough. A positive mindset comes to life in the small things you do every day.
1. Prioritize rest. Aim for 6–8 hours of sleep each night and try to stick to a consistent routine (yes, even on weekends). Rest is where recovery happens, so it’s not something to skimp on.
2. Manage stress before it manages you. Build in breaks. Step outside for a breath of fresh air. Try a short meditation, stretch session, or just a few deep breaths. This downtime doesn’t have to be long to be effective—it just has to be regular.
3. Invest in relationships that recharge you. Wellness isn’t solo work. Make space for connection and set boundaries around draining interactions.
4. Try a new hobby or ritual. Pick up painting, journaling, guided stretching, or reading. Anything that brings your mind and body into the present moment can be restorative.
5. Make time for joy. Dance in your kitchen. Walk barefoot in the grass. Blast your favorite playlist during your commute. A little playfulness goes a long way toward your overall wellness.
Your Wellness Journey
Your wellness habits should work for you, not add more stress to your plate. A Massage Envy membership makes it easy. Our monthly Wellness Session is a great way to jumpstart a wellness routine with massage therapy, facial services, and stretch.
• Massage therapy: Regular mindful wellness massage can help you reduce stress and promote relaxation, ease muscle tightness and improve circulation, and enhance mental clarity and emotional balance,
• Facial services: Results-driven facials can improve the appearance of skin texture and tone, boosting your confidence and encouraging mindful, relaxing care rituals.
• Stretch: Stretching can increase flexibility and mobility and improve posture and range of motion.
A wellness mindset isn’t about doing it all. It’s about creating a routine that works for you. Start by carving out time for care that restores your body and clears your mind.
Sign up for a Massage Envy membership today. To learn more, call 860.233.8890 or email Clinic0825@massageenvy.com. See ad on page 3 >
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Energy Healing and the Evolution of the Art and Science of Nursing
By Melissa Wooldridge Breton, APRN, FNP-BC, AHN-BC, HWNC-BC
“The
nurse
theorists who pioneered these concepts were not operating outside science; rather, they were expanding the boundaries of what 21st-century nursing science could become.”
—Melissa Wooldridge Breton, APRN
Within the evolving landscape of contemporary healthcare, nursing science continues to move beyond the reductionistic biomedical model toward a more integrative understanding of human beings as dynamic, energetic, interconnected whole-person systems. Long before the current interest in mindfulness, nervous system regulation, quantum-biofield science, and integrative healing, leading nurse theorists were already articulating frameworks that recognized consciousness, environment, and human connection as foundational dimensions of health, healing, and well-becoming.
The Influence of Nurse Theorists on Energy Healing
Nurses stand at the intersection of science, art, spirituality, and compassionate care, giving the profession a unique role in connecting evidence-informed practice with whole-person healing. Florence Nightingale, Martha E. Rogers, Jean Watson, and Margaret Newman offered perspectives on energy, environment, consciousness, caring, and systems that continue to influence holistic nursing today. At its core, nursing has always involved energetic exchange. A nurse’s compassion, awareness, attunement, and therapeutic connection can deeply shape the patient experience beyond physical intervention alone.
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale, often called the founder of modern nursing, understood that environment plays a powerful role in healing. Long before modern science confirmed links among stress, immunity, and recovery, Nightingale emphasized light, fresh air, cleanliness, nutrition, quiet, and beauty as essential parts of care. Her
environmental theory viewed people as closely connected to their surroundings, an idea reflected in today’s holistic, somatic, and systems-based healthcare models. Current research supports her observations, showing that calming spaces, natural light, reduced noise, and contact with nature can support nervous system regulation, mood, rest, and recovery.
Martha E. Rogers
Martha E. Rogers explored energy directly through her Science of Unitary Human Beings. She proposed that people are unified energy fields in constant interaction with the environmental field, rather than separate body systems. Her theory emphasized openness, rhythm, resonance, and dynamic patterning, encouraging nurses to view healing through presence, intentionality, pattern recognition, and environmental support. Rogers’s work helped shape holistic and integrative nursing approaches, including therapeutic touch, Reiki, meditation, sound healing, guided imagery, and biofield therapies. Her concept of resonance also connects with current research on mindfulness, breathing, sound, heart rate variability, nervous system balance, and emotional well-being.
Jean Watson
Jean Watson’s theory of human caring expanded nursing’s understanding of energy, consciousness, intentionality, and healing presence. Watson emphasized transpersonal caring relationships, authentic presence, compassion, loving-kindness, and the sacred nature of human connection. Her caritas processes encourage mindfulness, emotional attunement, stillness, and intentional care. Rather than viewing caring as a simple task,
Watson presented it as an energetic and moral force that can influence healing. Current research supports these ideas, showing that empathy, therapeutic communication, emotional safety, and compassionate caregiving can affect stress, patient satisfaction, treatment adherence, and perceptions of healing.
Margaret Newman
Margaret Newman’s theory of health as expanding consciousness reframed illness as more than pathology. She proposed that health includes both disease and non-disease states and is shaped by awareness, pattern recognition, meaning, and transformation. Her theory aligns with holistic and integrative nursing frameworks that recognize the emotional, spiritual, relational, and existential dimensions of healing. Nurses often witness patients finding clarity, connection, resilience, and purpose through illness, recovery, and healing experiences. Newman’s work supports a broader view of health, one that honors human growth and the possibility of transformation even during suffering and uncertainty.
Nursing in the 21st Century
Nursing remains uniquely positioned to lead the continued evolution of whole-person care. The future of healthcare will require clinicians who can integrate science with humanity, technology with compassion, and evidence-based practice with healing frameworks that honor the whole person. Nurse theorists who pioneered these ideas were not working outside science; they were expanding what nursing science could become. Their collective work reminds us that healing often emerges through relationship, environment, intention, consciousness, connection, and therapeutic energy exchange. In this way, energy healing is not separate from the art and science of nursing; it is central to nursing itself.
Melissa Wooldridge Breton, APRN, FNP-BC, AHN-BC, HWNC-BC, MSN, RN, is a board-certified family nurse practitioner, advanced holistic nurse, functional medicine nurse consultant, integrative health and wellness nurse coach, yoga instructor, Reiki Master, and sound emissary. Her approach at her practice, ECLIPSE Holistic Living in Glastonbury, models whole-person-centered care, attending to your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual dimensions of what health, wellness, and healing mean for you. Visit Eclipseholisticliving.com or call 860.614.7588 to learn more. See ad on page 51 >
COMMUNITY RESOURCES
ACUPUNCTURE
Stan Baker Acupuncture
Stan Baker, LAC 35 Nod Rd, Avon, CT 860.836.1068 acupuncturestanbaker.com
CBD STORE
Nature’s Gi s
304 W Main St., Avon, CT • 860.995.4444 naturesgi s-usa.com/
Nature’s Gifts is an independently owned, family run CBD store in Avon, CT. Stress, sleep, and pain solutions available. Our knowledgeable staff will happily guide you through our offerings to find the perfect CBD product for your needs. Don’t pay too much for your CBD—stop in, say hello, and let us help you feel like you again.
Colon hydrotherapy promotes hydration of the colon and loosening of waste matter, assisting elimination by natural peristalsis of the colon. Roots Natural Medical Center is offering colon hydrotherapy on our FDA-approved closed system device. Contact Elizabeth Regal, I-ACT certified colon hydrotherapist for an appointment.
VPG Waves delivers leading-edge therapies—from open-system LIBBE colonics and virtually pain-free shockwave treatments for pain and ED to holistic healing with infrared, grounding, and ionic copper foot baths. We break down scar tissue, restore nerves, and release fascia, ushering in the future of healing.
FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE
Tamara Sachs MD
Functional Medicine & Integrative Care LLC
New Milford, CT • 860.354.3304 mai@tsachsmd.com • tsachsmd.com
With over 30 years in the medical field, Dr. Sachs is a pioneer of Functional Medicine and Integrative Care. Her focus is in preventing and treating chronic illnesses by addressing the underlying causes, not just the symptoms. She creates holistic wellness plans, personalized to your specific and unique health goals.
Local Experts In and Around Connecticut
HOLISTIC CENTER
Melissa Wooldridge Breton
ECLIPSE Holistic Living, LLC
Glastonbury, CT • 860.614.7588
melissa@eclipseholisticliving.com
eclipseholisticliving.com
Eclipse Holistic Living is a cocreative healing arts studio in Glastonbury. A destination to envision your future self and actualize your potential. With alternative and complementary modalities, Eclipse is the portal for all who enter to embody conscious awareness through intentional holistic living— well-becoming on our healing-growth journey.
HOLISTIC DENTISTRY
Dr. Mark Breiner, DDS, FAGD, FIAOMT Fairfield, CT • 203.371.0300
WholeBodyDentistry.com
A recognized authority in the field of holistic dentistry, Dr. Breiner treats patients for a myriad of dental concerns including sleep breathing disorders, TMD, mercury toxicity, and hidden infections from cavitations and root canals. “If you have unexplained symptoms that won’t go away, the answer could be in your mouth.”
Led by Dr. Courtney Holmes, APRN, The Alchemista, our award-winning holistic spa blends science and soul. The Glow Guild team offers advanced facials, chemical peels, microneedling, IPL, waxing, IV therapy, hormone care, and massage—integrating aesthetics and wellness to help clients rejuvenate naturally and radiate confidence from the inside out.
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INTEGRATIVE NURSING
Dr. Pamela Cipriano, DNP, APRN The Practice of Health and Wellness
Thomaston, CT • 860.309.0054
130 South Main Street, STE 1C pcipriano@ppmlinc.com
Dr. Pamela Cipriano exemplifies excellence as an Integrative Nurse Practitioner, uniting clinical expertise with holistic healing. Her evidence-based, compassionate approach advances mind-body wellness, empowers patients, and promotes whole-person care. Through leadership, innovation, and advocacy, she inspires transformative nursing practice and elevates integrative healthcare across diverse populations.
Tracy Cormier, DNP, APRN, ANP-BC
TLC Healthcare Solutions
South Windsor, CT • 959.301.9606 tlc.healthcare.solutions.dnp@gmail.com tlchealthcaresolution.com
Direct Primary Care, Cardiology, Sleep Evaluations, Weight loss
Wise Concierge Wellness helps women experiencing burnout, emotional overwhelm, or feeling “off” regain clarity and stability. Led by a Registered Nurse, sessions combine nervous system regulation with personalized energy design insights to identify misalignment, restore balance, and create simple, sustainable lifestyle shifts for lasting emotional and physical well-being.
Lauri Ingram offers spiritual coaching, subconscious healing (NLP, hypnotherapy, EFT), and energy practices including Crystal Dreaming® and Reiki. With 40+ years of experience and advanced certifications, she helps clients release patterns, reclaim clarity, and step confidently into purposeful, aligned living by integrating conscious coaching, subconscious modalities, and spiritual depth.
Jacqueline M Kane, Master Energy Healer & Low Back Pain Specialist
Lori Calabrese, MD South Windsor, CT • 860.648.9755 info@touchpoints180.org touchpoints180.org
When nothing is working… it may not be your brain. Depression. Anxiety. Brain fog. Mood instability. Cognitive decline. These are often driven by underlying metabolic dysfunction— not just chemistry. Touchpoints180TM offers a structured, science-based pathway to restore brain and body health from the inside out.
Dr. Aieta is a naturopathic Physician with over 20 years of experience helping patients uncover and treat acute and chronic illness by supporting the body’s inherent ability to heal itself. He works to identify the underlying causes of illness and develops personalized treatment plans to address them.
Dr. Adam Breiner, ND Fairfield, CT • 203.371.8258
WholeBodyMed.com
Focusing on brain health and Lyme disease, Dr. Adam Breiner offers cutting-edge therapies that include hyperbaric oxygen, neurocognitive therapies, including sophisticated brain-imaging equipment to evaluate brain injuries and brainwave patterns associated with metabolic imbalances, infections, and allergies. Conditions treated include concussions, TBI, stroke, PTSD, ADD/ADHD, anxiety, depression, and more.
Dr. Dana Lapointe, ND, LMT, Esth. Sustainable Health & Wellness
Canton, CT and Virtual • 860.217.1171
SustainableHW.com
ConnecticutNaturopathic.com
Advocating for innovative, noninvasive treatments since 2010, Dr. Dana has been at the forefront of bringing StemWave to her community. Specializing in lifestyle medicine for chronic conditions (especially gut, skin, weight, and pain syndromes), and mental wellness coaching for those seeking alternatives to pharmaceutical mental health interventions. In-office, telemedicine, and group wellness programs.
Riverstone Naturopathic Health
63 West Street, Suite B1
Litchfield, CT • 860.361.9494
Christina Amicone, ND, is a naturopathic physician seeing patients at Riverstone Naturopathic Health in Litchfield, CT. Her focus is on oncology/ cancer (supportive therapies during conventional cancer treatments), naturopathic detoxification, gastrointestinal health (including IBS, IBD, SIBO), women’s health (hormone imbalances, menstrual problems, menopause), autoimmune diseases, and food sensitivities.
Dr. Nicole Klughers, ND, PHARMD, MSAC
Vis Wellness Center
Rocky Hill, CT • 234.222.8362
hello@drnicoleklughers.com drnicoleklughers.com
Dr. Nicole Klughers offers all-natural solutions to restore optimal health and help individuals reclaim a life of energy, balance, and joy. Formerly a pharmacist, Dr. Nicole serves as your “health detective” by listening attentively and utilizing detailed testing to identify and address the root cause of any health concern.
Soleil is a holistic clinic specializing in integrative and functional medicine. We are pleased to offer IV and IM nutrient therapy, craniosacral therapy, and general and facial acupuncture, with our roots in naturopathic medicine. We are passionate about using our tools to get our patients feeling their best!
Agnes Daddona is one of the best Psychic/Mediums in New England. She is also a Counselor, Healer, and Spiritual Teacher. For more than 20 years, Agnes has worked with thousands of people across the world in both English and Polish. Her Holistic Spa in Avon, CT, is a one-stop shop and offers high vibrational healing for the mind, body, and soul.
Focuses on Women’s Pelvic Health. Uses an integrative approach combining evidence based physical therapy with complimentary wellness services to support your mind, body and spirit. Personalized care for improved Pelvic Health for symptoms such as peri/menopausal symptoms, pelvic pain, bladder/bowel concerns, and pregnancy care. Participates with several major insurance plans.
RED LIGHT THERAPY
Stacy Sheehan
Aura Wellness, LLC
Berlin, CT • 860.690.6576
aurawellnessconn@gmail.com aurawellnessct.com
Discover the transformative power of Red Light Therapy at Aura Wellness, LLC. In just 10 minutes, experience full-body photobiomodulation—a non-invasive light therapy designed to boost cellular function, enhance skin health, reduce inflammation, and support muscle recovery. Begin your wellness journey toward renewed vitality and rejuvenation.
Rolfing®—The Art and Science of Body Change. A dynamic 10-session bodywork series that eases pain, improves movement, and restructures your body when you feel “out of whack.” A hands-on and educational approach that establishes order and balance after life’s injuries, stresses, and accidents. Since 1981.
THERMOGRAPHY
April Beaman, RDH, CTT CT Thermography
Farmington and Glastonbury, CT 860.415.1150 • ctthermography.com
CT Thermography specializes in medical thermal imaging. Breast thermography is a compression and radiation-free screening tool used to monitor breast health to detect physiological changes that may be early warning signs of a disease process. As a certified thermographic technician, I help empower women to take a proactive approach following their thermography screening for optimal breast health.
Are you experiencing physical symptoms of nervous system dysregulation, such as:
+ Constant tension + racing heart + broken sleep, like your body feels like it won’t shut o ?
+ Daily bloating, nausea, or heartburn that keeps coming back no matter what you do?
+ Drained, foggy, and wired at the same time like your body forgot how to relax?
I help you to gently recalibrate your lifestyle to release these symptoms from their root cause, using a blend of holistic nursing, nervous system support, and personalized insight.
