Dear Reader, I made a mistake. A few days ago, I decided to read the news. Moments later my heart was already racing. My shoulders felt tense. My teeth were clenched so tightly that they might as well have been stuck together with cement. In my mind’s eye, I saw flashes of news stories I had read in the past, the consequences and suffering I had witnessed, and all the fears I had for the future came flooding over me like a tidal wave. Then one of my kids asked me for some water, and instead...
9 months ago • 4 min read
Happy New Year, Reader! Whether you've made a resolution or not, every single person on earth wants to feel their best, but not everyone knows how to make that happen. A simple place to start is to pay attention to the flavors of your food. Have you noticed that some foods make you feel calm and content while others leave you feeling restless, irritable, or sluggish? Science is confirming what ancient healers have known for millennia: Digestion is central to both physical and mental health....
10 months ago • 1 min read
Hey Reader, By the middle of last February, I felt like I was going to explode. My work schedule had ramped up right alongside the holidays, and I thought the pressure would let up in the new year, but it took a lot longer for me to recover than expected. In hindsight, I should’ve known better—especially as a Chinese medicine practitioner. The classic texts make it very clear: From late autumn through winter, we’re meant to do less. Nature gets quiet and rests more when the weather is cold,...
11 months ago • 3 min read
Hey Reader, You may have noticed that I've been a little quieter on the email front lately. It's not because I've stepped back from my work. Quite the opposite actually! I've been extremely busy behind the scenes, building furniture and buying supplies because...(drum-roll please)... I'm thrilled to announce that I've opened a new clinic space, The Embodied Wellness Studio, and am now accepting new patients. If you haven't already followed the new Instagram account, click here to see a sneak...
about 1 year ago • 1 min read
Hey Reader, Have you seen the new Inside Out movie? In case you aren't familiar with it, Inside Out is a Pixar movie that shows how an 11-year-old girl, Riley’s emotions interact and develop inside of her. The new sequel, Inside Out 2, features a 13-year-old Riley as she hits puberty and a new cast of more complicated emotions gets introduced, including embarrassment, ennui, and—most disruptive of all—anxiety. What I love about this movie is that you can see how anxiety is just trying to...
over 1 year ago • 2 min read
Hey Reader, A lot of people come to me with symptoms that conventional medical doctors have no good answers for. Chronic sinusitis? Throw a decongestant and some Advil at it. Migraines? Let's put you on birth control, caffeine pills, and prescription pain medications to see if anything changes. Anxiety and insomnia? No problem. There are drugs to numb those feelings and knock you out. Of course I'm being facetious. Pharmaceuticals can be life-saving, and you will often hear me singing modern...
over 1 year ago • 2 min read
Hey Reader, If you’ve come to see me in clinic recently, there’s a good chance we’ve talked about ways to support your body, mind, and spirit as we transition from winter to spring. Just as the weather can be fickle this time of year, sometimes it takes people a little time to acclimate. If you have too much cold still stuck in your system from winter, or you don’t have enough energy to push past the obstructions that will inevitably stand in your way in spring, you’ll feel the impact on both...
over 1 year ago • 1 min read
Hey Reader, I am not one to brag about exhaustion. I don’t wear busyness as a badge of honor (as so many are wont do in our society). If you ever hear me lament that I’ve had too much to do and too little rest, it’s because some deeper part of my psyche hopes that the act of voicing my overwhelm will somehow relieve it. This was often the case over the past month. With 2 small children, my life is already full to the brim with activity under even the most mundane circumstances. Add in a...
almost 2 years ago • 2 min read
Hey Reader, A few years ago I noticed this idea circulating on social media: that nobody can make you feel any particular way. Hand-in-hand with this belief, some self-help gurus also like to tell us that we're entirely responsible for our emotions. But try to apply this belief to your own life and you'll quickly start feeling confused, frustrated, and like a failure. Because the truth isn't quite so simple. No matter how hard you try, no matter how many gratitude lists you write and how many...
almost 2 years ago • 2 min read
