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Self Improvement Category
Natural OptionsLove Yourself First
With February (“love and heart month”) behind us, that time when you give a little more – flowers, cards, gifts or an “I love you” to that special someone – have you ever taken a step back to ask, “What if I gave as much love to myself as I Read more…
Natural OptionsStart Your Day with a Cup of Chi
Chi self-massage is a Taoist concept originating back thousands of years. I was first introduced to the practice when studying at the Taoist Institute and taught to do chi self-massage before getting out of bed in the morning. The idea is to cultivate “chi,” or energy, using breathing, visualizations and Read more…
InspirationCreating Meaningful Moments
What does your typical day look like? You work, shop for groceries, run errands, attend appointments and scheduled events. Life is busy. But when you look back at the bigger picture – your entire life – what happy thoughts comes to mind? Those special memories, maybe only a minute in Read more…
Integrative MedicineI Forgot My Oxygen Mask
As I write this column, I’m sick at home. It is a rare day that I don’t push through and go to work, but as I continued to chill and sweat through the night, I knew I had to cancel my clinic day and just stay in bed. This doesn’t Read more…
Through the GenerationsThe Opposing Forces of Music and Silence
It was a quaint little restaurant on a balmy desert night – just the two of them, she a writer, he a musician, together conversing in a syncopated rhythm of their own making. Their wine glasses clink and he proposes a toast, “hip-hip, chin-chin.” They laugh at the funny Italian Read more…
Through the GenerationsEstablishing a Personal Practice
It’s that time of year when many people review and plan how to create optimal health in their daily lives. My question is, “Do you have a personal practice or routine that serves and supports you?” Having come from a sports science and fitness background, I came across many people Read more…
Through the GenerationsSoul-full Solutions for Time Well Spent
Time…We can’t stop the clock, but if we recognize that a moment passed is a moment gone forever, we might want to make different choices about how we spend it. Money, a good name, and even health can be regained, but a tick of the clock can never be retrieved. Read more…
Financial HealthThe Bucket List
Ringing in the New Year always sparks reflection on a new beginning and enthusiastic goals for the year ahead. Whether it be personal growth, must do experiences, or starting a new way of eating, we plan by jotting it down on paper, making a visual board, or telling someone our Read more…
FitnessJump into Health
There are multitudes of ways to exercise nowadays. New innovations appear in our local fitness facilities to keep us entertained while keeping us healthy, yet we often revert back to the time-honored ways of exercising and workouts of the past become current trends once again. The trampoline, otherwise known as Read more…
InspirationThe Importance of Play
Think of those times in your life when you were alone doing something you love; those times you remember being filled with nothing but sheer joy…maybe immersing yourself in a hobby, creating something new, walking through a serene landscape or simply sitting in silence. How did you feel? Most likely, Read more…
Medical NewsLopsided
I looked down at my toes as I lay in the restorative yoga pose and noticed one pant-leg pulled up on my shorter leg, accentuating the way I was born. My right leg is an inch shorter than my left leg and so my body has compensated. My back curves Read more…
Natural OptionsStop the Dopamine Food Cycle
For most of us eating is a pleasurable experience, but for some it is a double-edged sword that leads down a path of emotional cues, cravings and bad choices. In previous issues of Desert Health, I discussed the neurotransmitter dopamine and how it drives us toward foods and substances to Read more…
Natural OptionsKindness at Work Changes Everything
As a wellness director, I conduct an ongoing personal and professional search for the most current trends of effective remedies in the marketplace. During a recent meeting of wellness professionals in the Coachella Valley, we discussed the topics of achieving radiant health by using structured water and vibrational therapy. These Read more…
Natural OptionsLayers of Our Life
Many of us have heard the advice that, when making changes in our behavior, we should make a small change at first, establish it and see how it works for you. It got me thinking about how our yoga and meditation practices are ongoing. We make our way to the Read more…
Natural OptionsThe Creative and Healing Power of Nature
There is something deeply meditative in hearing the rustle of the leaves of a tree, in watching a hummingbird kiss the petals of a flower, or in kneeling in a garden when planting spring bulbs. All of us have found ourselves calmed, reinvigorated and inspired both in mind and spirit Read more…
Through the GenerationsMaking the Holidays Happy
The holidays are a time of joy, anticipation, happiness, frivolity, family fun, merriment and well, high expectations. Whether it’s Thanksgiving, Christmas, Chanukah, or any celebratory event, we tend to get nostalgic and that inner child within all of us wants everything to be picture perfect! The reality is that while Read more…
Through the GenerationsKeeping Your Cool During a Move
Moving isn’t easy according to many researchers and psychologists. The truth is we don’t need researchers to tell us how stressful it is or how we should feel about this experience. However, we most certainly can understand ourselves better by understanding what is happening during this process and what we Read more…
Financial HealthAllocation Pie
‘Tis the season…to eat pie! With the holidays around the corner, many of us will forego our diets and allow ourselves to enjoy the season baking our favorite desserts to share with family and friends or enjoy the benefits of the enthusiastic chefs in the group. As a seasonal baker, Read more…