Houses of Healing

Neurotransmitters and Your Health Many adverse health conditions are related to brain chemistry imbalances. Your brain chemistry affects these conditions and the conditions affect your brain chemistry. With a determination of your neurotransmitter profile we can begin to correct some long standing health problems. Particularly affected are: Stress Low Mood or mood swings Anxious, irritability, agitation, tension, panic attacks Difficulty concentrating, focusing or remembering Sleep disturbances, sleep difficulties Headaches Fatigue, lack of energy Weight issues, food cravings Tell me more...

Secrets to Successful Follow Through

"I am in a situation where I know what I want to do and how to do it but I can not seem to follow through on my intentions. I get started and feel great about what I am doing. I get all excited and vow this time to really follow through. But soon the same thing happens - I just fade away. I can't seem to stick with my good plan and my good intentions. What should I do?"

Most of us have had the experience of wanting to obtain a desired result and seeing it slip repeatedly through our fingers. The most frustrating part of change is watching good intentions fade away and old habits win the day.

As you start making changes, you are probably filled with enthusiasm for the promise of changes to come. You are convinced that this time will be different. You WILL follow through on the changes you want to make. You will have a healthier lifestyle. You will save money. You will find the one... You will loose weight... You will... - whatever.

There are many reasons for not following through – perhaps the goal is not right for you. Maybe you don’t have the resources you need. Maybe you think you want to reach your goal but are actually being pushed into doing something you think you should do but don’t really want to do. Maybe you already have too much on your plate and can’t take on any more.

But let’s assume that it is none of those but it is just a lack of ability to follow through.

Our brains are hard wired to be alert for the things that are threatening to us. We are not hard wired for following through on things that don’t seem to be an emergency right now.

To override this natural tendency to act only on things that seem to be important in the moment you can trick your brain into following through more naturally.

Don’t let yourself stay caught in a downward spiral of doing the same old things. Train yourself to notice right away when your commitment is beginning to slip and master two or three key “will power tricks” to get your brain back on track so that you do what you say you want to do.

By learning to better manage your energy using these “will power tricks,” you can coax success with these strategies to bring your desires for change into effective and efficient actions that give you the results you want.

Here are four of my favorite “Will Power Tricks” found in my e-course The Way of Change.

Just Do It. Start Now

Begin where you are.

(This is my favorite “will power trick” that I give my coaching clients.)

Maybe you want to start attending your children’s sports activities but it's late - if you leave now the game will be almost over when you get there.

Go anyway.

Don’t wait for the perfect time, the perfect place, or the perfect mood. You don’t have to start your new life on a Monday. If you have missed every day but today, start today. If you are only going to get to hear the last 5 minutes of the lecture – go anyway.

Forward movement begets more forward movement. Going anyway begins the momentum you need to keep pulling you forward. And every time you “just do it” the next time is more familiar – and easier.

All You Have To Do Is Show Up

Leading the Horse To Water

(found in the book, Following Through: a Revolutionary New Method for Finishing Whatever You Start by Steve Levinson and Pete Greide)

The crux of this strategy is to put yourself in a better position to follow through. This strategy aims to just move you a bit closer to your intended action while at the same time offering you an "out" if the going gets too rough.

The Leading the Horse to Water is all about showing up – it doesn’t ask you to do anything once you are there. Realizing that all you have to do is show up and that you can quit whenever you want is enough to release the resistance, you are building up for not doing what you want. And once you release that resistance, what seemed so hard suddenly looks much easier.

For example, when you would rather do anything else than take your daily walk have a standing agreement with yourself that you will just go and put on your walking shoes. Once you have your shoes on and are dressed for your walk it is almost guaranteed that you are out the door walking.

A Little Forethought To Put You On Your Way

Get your supplies together.

For instance, if you are making a change and you want to journal daily, don’t be distracted collecting your writing supplies every day. Put everything that you will need in the one place where you will be journaling and keep it there. When it is time to journal all you have to do is pick up the journal and the pen and start writing.

Think ahead to the next two or three things you want to follow through on, make a list of what you will need to begin these changes and start getting everything together now.

Once you have your supplies put them in the place where they will be needed. Make it easy to focus on the task at hand.

A little forethought will enable you to carry through to completion without delays, distractions, or unnecessary running around.

Persistent Daily Action Wins the Game

Develop routines.

Change does not happen overnight. There are powerful physiological and psychological processes that are set to keep you like you are. They keep drawing you back to your current baseline.

Forget that 21 days to a new habit idea. It takes 3-6 months of consistent daily practice to rewire the enzymatic pathways in your brain so that your new habit becomes natural for you.

Transformation may look like it is instantaneous but there is no miracle moment. Take the time to get it right in the first place. Give the change your resources, your efforts, your attention, and your focus. Every moment of dedication to the change will benefit you many fold down the line. Don’t rush to move onto the next thing. Make sure that you allow yourself time to build a strong foundation.

Develop a routine around the change you want to see. For instance, if you want to connect with your kids more often don’t wait for the time to open up. Instead, design a bedtime routine that you do every night with them.

Master a couple of these “will power tricks” to use whenever you find yourself not doing what you say you want to do and celebrate and acknowledge yourself every time you do follow through - the struggle with following through will soon fade away.

Instant Herbal Remedy for Bug Bites and Stings

In the spring and summer your kids – and you too- are more likely to be running around outside barefoot or rolling and playing in the grass. Getting a bug bite or sting can put an end to these happy times. This bug bite and sting herbal remedy never fails to work and to get the kids quickly ready for more outdoor adventures. 

To squelch a bug bite or sting: Quickly find a broad leaf plantain leaf - easily found as they are in almost all grassy areas. It is low growing, dark green and broad, with “ribs” on the leaf – please look it up in a plant identification book if you are not sure.  

Chew up the leaf – the action of salvia activates its sting stopping powers. (If you are afraid to chew it up then bite on it and mix it with some of your salvia.) Place the chewed up plantain leaf on the bug bite or sting. Almost immediately the stinging will stop. You or your child can hold the plantain mass in place while you go inside and get the rest of the remedy. 

Find your comfrey tincture (you do have a good herbal first aid kit, right?), a big Band-Aid (my kids preferred using a gauze pad and first aid tape - so much more dramatic). Leaving the plantain mass in place, secure it with the Band-Aid or gauze and first aid tape. Once secured, dribble some comfrey tincture under the dressing and on the sting. The comfrey is soothing and cool and takes away any lingering pain, stinging or discomfort. Leave on until it falls off later that day or the next morning. If it is a particularly bad bite or sting, you may need to put a fresh plantain/comfrey dressing on the next day. 

This remedy has never failed and prevents infections from the bite or sting. The best thing is how much it seems to empower the children (and adults too!). If someone around them gets a bug bite or sting the kids are the first ones to find the plantain (so be sure you teach them to be able to accurately identify it) and they show up beaming and full of compassion – “Don’t worry. It’s OK --we have the plantain!”

Sleep your way to better memory

"I am teaching my law students a class on preparing to take exams. I have all the usual exam preparation information but is there any new slant on things you can offer to facilitate their performance?"

Our #1 Study Tip

The best advice you can offer your students is for them to “sleep on it.” Research shows that getting a good night’s sleep facilitates memory consolidation. Sleep appears to help the brain commit new information to memory. Without a good night’s sleep your students mental processing time will slow down and they are more likely to make poor decisions plus their thinking will be foggy and they will have poorer concentration. If your students don’t get enough sleep their memory will be impaired and their ability to think and process information will be impaired. 

Throughout the day there is an important sleep chemical called adenosine that builds up in the brain. The more you use the brain (e.g. study) the more adenosine builds up. As adenosine builds up it slows down the rate of nerve firing in the brain and you get sleepy. Adenosine also increases blood flow to the brain, which helps the brain restore itself more efficiently during the night. While you sleep, your brain recycles adenosine to use the next day. If you don’t sleep long enough to reprocess your brain’s supply of adenosine you will stay sleepy until you do sleep long enough to clear the residual adenosine. The more your students are using their brain the day before the exam (i.e. by studying) the more sleep they may need the night before the exam to avoid that sleepy state created by unprocessed adenosine. 

Also, the quality of their sleep is important for improving their cognitive functioning. Good quality sleep is composed of five distinct stages during which the brain’s activity changes.

In stage I, you drift toward sleep and the brain’s electrical activity slows. Stage II is a light sleep in which your body prepares for deep sleep by lowering body temperature and relaxing muscles.  In stages III and IV you enter slow wave sleep. REM (intense dreaming) sleep occurs in Stage V. 

Your body is restored during slow wave sleep in stages III and IV. In Stage V – REM sleep-  your mind is restored. It is during Stage V sleep that the neural connections are made that support the retention and organization of information and space is created to learn new information and tasks. All of these five stages together compose one sleep cycle.  

Each sleep cycle lasts 90-120 minutes. For improved cognitive performance it is important that you cycle through these five stages of sleep for a full five to six cycles a night. If you are not going through the full five stages of sleep and descending down into REM sleep your ability to retain information, organize your memories, and prepare to learn something new will be compromised. Also, the longer you are in REM sleep the more aggressively your brain will recycle adenosine and the more refreshed you will feel when you wake up. 

Some research even suggests that if you are an early riser and miss that late stage of sleep that your performance on learning certain tasks may decrease by 20%. It appears that during sleep your brain organizes all information you learned that day, sends some information to long term storage, other information gets deleted, and some is slated for retention and redesignation in the next sleep cycle. The brain uses a good night’s sleep to consolidate memories and skills learned during the day.

If your students will be taking their exam later in the day you can advise them to become good nappers. Research shows that frustration and poorer performance on mental tasks sets in as the day goes on. Scores on some mental tasks appear to worsen over the course of a day. But taking a 30 minute nap prevents this deterioration and a one hour nap actually boosts later day performance to morning levels. If your students can nap long enough (50-60 minutes) and thus cycle through their slow wave deep sleep their learning may be fostered. Even a 20 minute power nap can be helpful.

The average need for good quality sleep is between 7 and 8 hours a night with some of us needing up to 10 hours and a few needing 6 hours. So helping your students learn and find ways to get the amount of sleep they need can go a long way in helping them to perform better with less struggle. Hope that helps!

Are you at risk because of a Vitamin D Deficiency?

Worried about:

Cancer

Diabetes

Depression

Osteoporosis

Chronic pain

These and a host of other common health problems are all are associated with a lack of Vitamin D.

Vitamin D deficiencies are very common, particularly in northern climates. Lack of sunshine, wearing clothing, and use of sunscreens inhibits the natural creation of Vitamin D in the skin.

Having optimal Vitamin D levels is a simple and inexpensive health change that can affect a:

78% reduction in type1 diabetes in children

33% reduction in type 2 diabetes

72% reduction in number of falls in the elderly

42% reduction in multiple sclerosis in women

And those without adequate Vitamin D levels are at risk for:

200% increase in type 1 diabetes in children

30-50% more cancers

Optimal levels of Vitamin D result in a 77% reduction in cancer incidence.

Life Extension Foundation research shows that achieving adequate Vitamin D levels in the US population could prevent as many as ¾ of all cancers in as little as four years.

Research also reveals that 275,00 American lives could be saved each year if a nationwide program to get adequate vitamin D levels was implemented.

Low levels of Vitamin D have been identified as a “health crisis emergency”. Everything should be done to ensure that everyone achieves optimal Vitamin D status.

“Because of convincing evidence of benefit and the strong evidence of safety, we urge those who have the ability to support public health – the media, vitamin manufacturers, and policy makers  - to undertake new initiatives that will have a realistic chance of making a difference in terms of vitamin D nutrition.”
--American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

A review article in the July 19, 2007 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine documents that those with less than optimal Vitamin D levels have increase incidence of:

Autoimmune diseases

Osteoarthritis

Depression

Hypertension

Pulmonary disorders

Schizophrenia

Cardiovascular diseases

In addition, low levels of Vitamin D have been related to:

Osteoporosis

Muscle weakness

Hypothyroidism

Non-specific musculoskeletal pain

Chronic low back pain

Fibromyalgia

Stroke

Between 40-100% of elderly people in the US and Europe have insufficient or deficient levels of Vitamin D. Even children and young adults who supplement with 400 IU of Vitamin D and consume Vitamin D rich foods can be low in Vitamin D.

And don’t count on sunlight exposure to increase your vitamin D levels.

Vitamin D levels can remain low in some people despite abundant exposure to sunlight. 51% of individuals who had a mean of 11.1 hours per week of total body skin exposure with no sunscreen used still remained low in Vitamin D levels. Tanned skin loses its ability to manufacture Vitamin D and as we age our ability to convert vitamin D in the skin becomes further diminished.

Your Vitamin D status can be assessed by having your blood tested. Vitamin D testing identifies Vitamin D deficiency as a potential cause of numerous health problems. Further testing monitors Vitamin D levels during supplementation to ensure adequate levels are achieved and protects against possible overdosing and toxicity.

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition states that the “minimum Vitamin D blood levels needed to reduce disease risk is 30 ng/mL” and that it is rare for members of the US population to achieve this.

To account for the significant individual dose response variability, an optimal strategy is to achieve a serum Vitamin D (25-hydroxyvitamin D) level of around 60 ng/mL. Depending on your current Vitamin D levels you may need to take up to 5,000 IU or more of Vitamin D to achieve this optimal disease prevention level.

The good news is that Vitamin D is inexpensive. That's why testing for Vitamin D will never be popularized by the media - because there is no expensive drug to push.

But it is important to remember that it is the amount of Vitamin D in the blood that determines disease risk – not the amount of Vitamin D consumed. Excess fat in the body can lock up Vitamin D and prevent utilization.

State of the Art Vitamin D Testing

Until recently, a test for Vitamin D levels meant a trip to the doctor and a blood draw. But now, a few drops of blood from a quick and almost painless prick of the finger with a few spots of blood placed on special collection paper are all that is needed. This can be done at home. It’s convenient, quick and suitable for all populations from pediatric to the elderly.

Your blood spot sample is sent to an independent laboratory for analysis. You’ll have accurate results in just a few days.

Blood spot testing ensures that you achieve optimal levels of Vitamin D and avoid the multiple risks associated with low Vitamin D levels.

The fee for the test is only $135. To order the Vitamin D Blood Spot Assay

Your Vitamin D Blood Spot Assay and complete instructions will be mailed to you. When the results are in, you’ll get an exclusive session by phone with me to help you interpret and integrate the results of your Vitamin D Bloodspot Assay at no additional charge.

I will give you your top 3 strategies for addressing the test results. You will get specific recommendations based on your test information and options for further treatment.

Our secure servers use "bullet-proof encryption" to take your order, so your information is safe. But, if you prefer, you can phone in your order to 434-263-4996.

More Functional Health Tests

Herbal Remedies for Spring Allergies

As spring bursts onto the scene with all of its lovely color, vibrancy, light, and new growth you may- unfortunately - experience an array of discomforting symptoms. Your eyes may tear, you may have a scratchy or draining throat, your nose may be constantly itchy and you may be always be on the verge of a sneeze or experience repeated sneezing – welcome to spring allergies.

Seasonal allergies are usually accompanied by “stuffiness”, sneezing, watery eyes, excess drainage, runny nose, excess mucus. These symptoms are the body’s attempts to flush out an offending allergen. For those with seasonal allergies these symptoms can get out of hand and result in feeling miserable.

Herbs can be added to your medicine chest of remedies to help make your change of season more comfortable and enjoyable. Before deciding which herbs to include as part of your spring allergy relief program, it is wise to check with a practitioner familiar with herbal health care.

Bioflavonoids to the Rescue

Bioflavonoids are an important constituent found in many flowers, leaves, and fruits that help bring relief for seasonal allergy symptoms.

Bioflavonoids help prevent the formation of histamine. Histamine is one of the substances released by the body in an attempt to get rid of the offending foreign particle - the allergen. It is a hormone that causes tearing eyes and runny noses as the body attempts to flush out the offending allergen. Histamine prompts the body to quickly get rid of the allergen by activating the common allergy symptoms such as itchy and watery eyes, runny and congested nose and sinuses, and swelling and inflammation.

Increasing your intake of bioflavonoids helps prevent the formation of histamine (as opposed to commonly used over the counter anti-histamines which interfere with histamine’s action after it has been produced). Herbs that help alleviate sneezing, watery eyes, and runny noses contain substances that prevent the formation of histamine. Without histamine, your seasonal allergy symptoms can be significantly reduced. Many bioflavonoids are also anti-inflammatories, which decrease the swelling of tissues caused by reacting to an allergen.

Anti-allergenic and bioflavonoid rich herbs include German chamomile, lemon balm, Baical skullcap, mints, anise, ginger, peppermint, spearmint, feverfew, milk thistle, and yarrow.

Hawthorn is an anti-histamine herb that blocks the release of histidine decaroxylase needed to convert histamine in the body. Licorice, ginkgo, cinnamon, cardamom, rosemary, many mints and the essential oils of orange, tangerine, lemon are antihistamine and anti-allergenic and help relax the nasal passages and airways. German chamomile may slow allergic reactions by increasing the adrenal glands’ production of cortisone, which reduces lung inflammation and makes breathing easier. These herbs can be taken as teas or in tincture form.

Herbal Baths and Teas Help Soothe Irritation

Essential oils of chamomile, clove, caraway, and lemon balm contain natural antihistamines that can be useful for soothing itchy hives. Mix a few drops of the essential oil with an ounce of carrier oil such as almond or olive and apply to hives. Never apply the essential oils directly to skin as they can be caustic. Never take essential oils internally unless directed by a health care practitioner.

Itchy hives can also be relieved by taking an herbal bath. Dried antihistamine herbs such as thyme, German chamomile, basil, fennel, and tarragon can be mixed together and made into a soothing bath for allergy relief for skin reactions. To make an effective herbal bath use a quart glass jar and fill the jar one-third way of the dried herb mixture. Pour in boiling water to fill the jar. Put a cap on the jar and let it sit for at least one hour. If you want a stronger bath, you can let the mixture sit four to six hours. Strain out the herbs and pour the remaining herbal liquid into the bath. Soak and relax.

These same bath herbs can be used to make an anti- allergy tea to help relieve those worrisome symptoms. To make a tea use one teaspoon of the herbs to one cup of boiling water. Steep for 20 minutes. Drink one to three cups a day.

More Herbal Allergy Helpers

An allergic response can cause tissue lining the sinuses to swell, which can block the outlets of the sinuses to the nose. When this happens mucus build up in the sinuses can cause headaches and mucus draining from the back of the nose into the throat (the common postnasal drip). Using an over-the-counter anti-histamine with these symptoms can thicken the mucus even more so that it can not drain. It is better to help dilate the sinus passages and thin and liquefy the mucus so that it can drain easily. Hot chili peppers are very effective at draining thick, congested mucus and relieving these symptoms. Herbs such as ginger, yarrow, lemongrass, chickweed, red clover, fenugreek can be effective decongestants that thin and liquefy the congested mucus.

To help relieve the scratchy, sore throat that accompanies seasonal allergies herbs that soothe and coat the mucus membranes - demulcents- can be effective. Demulcent herbs include: marshmallow, malva, slippery elm, and violet. If a cough accompanies the sore throat, you can try plantain, wild cherry bark, or horehound all of which act as excellent cough relievers. Plantain also supports the adrenals, acts as an anti-spasmodic and helps expel mucus.

Nettles helps to prevent the excessive release of inflammatory substances such as leukotrienes. Leukotrienes are one of the natural body substances released when an allergen enters the body resulting in an inflammatory response. This leads to irritated and swollen mucus membranes that secrete excessive mucus. Nettles is also anti-allergen, enhances the immune system and increases the body’s ability to handle stress.

The herb ginkgo contains ginkgolides that interfere with the chain of events that results in allergic reactions. Phytochemicals found in ginkgo biloba block the action of platelet-activating factor that activates immune cells responsible for inflammation. Several studies suggest that ginkgo improves the ability to tolerate allergens. Follow label directions on the bottle as far as dosage is concerned. Avoid taking in excess as excessive ginkgo can lead to diarrhea, irritability, and insomnia.

Another helpful herb to use to increase the body’s ability to resist reacting to allergens is milk thistle. Milk thistle protects the liver and improves its ability to clear antigens from the body and strengthens mucus membrane integrity while providing bioflavanoids.

Herbs can be a definite benefit in helping you enjoy the early days of spring and move energetically and free from allergy symptoms into the warm days of summer.

Before taking any herbs always learn about the herb you are taking to be sure it is compatible with you and check with a knowledgeable herbal health care provider. Enjoy!

Check out my Catalog of Organic and Wildcrafted Herbal Products.

Healing with Forgiveness

Our cells are constantly eavesdropping on our thoughts and being changed by them. A bout of depression can wreak havoc with the immune system; falling in love can boost it. Despair and helplessness raise the risk of heart attacks and cancer, thereby shortening life. Joy and fulfillment keep us healthy and extend life. This means that the line between biology and psychology can't really be drawn with any certainty. A remembered stress, which is only a wisp of thought, releases the same flood of destructive hormones as the stress itself. --Deepak Chopra

For true healing to occur - and not merely just a shift in symptoms-, you have to be attentive to your mind, your emotions, your psychology, your environments, your relationships, and your spirit.

Practicing forgiveness can enhance your feelings of well being and improve your health. This is especially true with regards to being forgiving to those close to you. Research shows that adults who practice forgiveness experienced less anger, less stress, more optimism, and better general health.

Negative memories may induce bitterness and negative thoughts about the past. When these negative memories predominate, the emotions of contentment, satisfaction, serenity and peace are not experienced and that sense of happiness about the past is not available.

To help ensure survival, negative emotions tend to get our attention and predominate in our focus until we undo them with some positive emotion. When negative memories about the past are fostering negative emotions, the way out is to rewrite the negative memories.

Although the direct relationship between forgiveness and improved health is still not well established, holding onto bitterness, resentment and hurt from the past can seriously dampen the energy you have available for creating an upward spiral of positive energy. Forgiveness undoes the bitterness, resentment, and hurt about past transgressions that block or reduce the feelings of happiness about the past. Forgiveness is a simple (if not always easy) choice for rewriting memories of past upsetting events and opening the door to the emotions of contentment, satisfaction, serenity, and peace – and improved wellbeing.

If you are stuck in an unforgiving mode we can talk about tools, techniques and programs that can help you find your way to forgiveness and increased health and well being. You can give me a call at 434-263-4996 or email me at maryann@evenstaronline.com

Insidious Depression

Depression is awful – in whatever form you may experience it. You would think that something that feels so bad would propel you to do anything to get rid of it. You know - like a noxious substance that we accidentally eat and then get violent spasms to vomit.

You’d think that if you are feeling depressed you would be hightailing it to engage in some of the known effective strategies for getting rid of depression. You might visit your doctor for an anti-depressant or your local therapist for cognitive behavioral therapy. You’d start exercising. You’d be getting out in the sunlight more. You’d change your diet. You’d learn to meditate and develop a mindful approach to life. You’d take some nutritional supplements like 5HTP or St. John’s Wort.

But when you are depressed most of the time you find yourself avoiding any and all of those things.

The insidious thing about depression (and for that matter most mood imbalances) is this – depression has inherent in itself a hidden pull to stay depressed. When you are depressed, there is a part of the depression that feels good because it is familiar- as illogical as that may sound. In some subtle way, there is a tendency to keep yourself feeling depressed.

Rationally you’d want to stop being depressed because it feels so bad. But anything that will help you move out of depression also comes with this heavy internal response “It’s just too hard” or some similar variation such as:
• I can’t do that.
• I tried that and it didn’t work.
• I don’t see how that would work.
• I can’t remember to do that.
• I’m too busy, tired, overwhelmed, etc to do that.
• That doesn’t seem like something that would work … something that would be fun or something I want to do, etc.

However you spin it, depression (and other mood imbalances, too) becomes a closed system that locks you within the system. Insidious, crazy, and perverse.

Here is a little bit of the physiology about that:

The thing about mood imbalances is that the biochemistry in your brain always seeks its current baseline - which means that it is designed to stay the way it is. Your brain chemistry always seeks its neurotransmitter baseline and this baseline is kept in place by certain enzymatic processes in the body. It can take 6 months or more of consistent, regular input to change those biochemical enzymatic processes and thus your neurotransmitter profile.

Your brain chemistry drives you to think and do things that will keep your brain chemistry just the way it is. Your current brain chemistry is driving you to avoid thinking or doing things that would shift your biochemistry and provide a physiological opportunity to shift your moods.

In order to find your way out of depression and other mood imbalances you have to reach deeply inside yourself and pull out a life spark of yourself – a piece of your inner spirit or your life essence -and take the first step away from imbalance. And every day you have to reach inside of yourself again and find that life spark again and take the next step toward balance again – and again, and again.

As each step fans that life spark, it also gradually and over time changes your physiology and shifts your
neurotransmitter baseline.

Changing your physiology is important because it loosens the grip of that perverse biochemical tendency to keep things the way they are. Changing your physiology opens up a whole new world of thoughts, emotions, actions, and perceptions that weren’t readily available at the old biochemical baseline.

Hand in hand life spark and physiology work together and nurture each other toward a new level of balance.

"Where the spirit does not work with the hand there is no art." -- Leonardo Da Vinci

Symptoms of Peri-Menopause

Here is a quick checklist to find out if you might be peri-menopausal and need to take special care to manage your moods and retain your memory and learning skills.

"There is nothing particularly brilliant about denying your biology" -- Janet Kinosian

Do you have these symptoms?

Hot flashes, night sweats, perspiration and/ or chilly sensations

Sensations of numbness and/ or tingling of skin

Insomnia, sleeplessness, and/or restless, fragmented sleep

Fatigue, feeling of weariness of mind and body with desire for rest; disinclination to make further effort

Vaginal dryness

Irregular menstrual bleeding

Changes in frequency of menstrual cycle
Irritability, feelings of anxiety or apprehension

Feeling of depression, sadness, unhappiness and / or being miserable without any obvious reason

Pain affecting joints and/or muscles

Headaches of any kind

Dry skin

Urinary problems

Digestive problems

Sexual / desire changes

Quickening or acceleration of heartbeat or a fluttering/pounding heartbeat in a sitting or resting position

Sensation of "crawly skin"

Forgetful, scattered and/or suddenly disorganized

Clumsiness and /or uncoordination

Difficulty remembering past events and/or learning new material

Slow to recall a name or to find the right word

The more symptoms that you have experienced the more likely it is that you are entering peri-menopause. It may be time for you to take some steps to shift your health and self-care focus to provide adequately for your new hormonal and well-being needs.

At Evenstar, we are dedicated to helping you make your Perimenopause Passage the best time of your life. We offer Functional Health Tests, Personal Coaching and comprehensive Mood & Energy Wellness Programs that are specific to the Perimenopause Passage.

Find out more at www.evenstaronline.com/perimenopause.html

Things to know before you use your Microwave

Studies show that when people eat microwaved food that levels of hemoglobin and HDL cholesterol (the good one) decrease. Both going in the not so good direction.

White blood cell levels also decrease (not in a good way).

During microwaving, the actual structure of molecules is torn apart and forcefully deformed. Cell membranes are broken and the electrical potentials of the cell are neutralized. Doesn’t sound like a good thing to me.

Microwaving foods not only results in the destruction and deformation of molecules and but also the creation of new compounds known as radiolytic compounds – which have been previously unknown to man. Sounds tasty?

After eating microwaved foods, blood levels of erythrocyte, hemoglobin, hematocrit and leukocyte were at the "lower limits of normal". Wrong direction.

A study shows that microwaving human milk appears to destroy some of its disease fighting capabilities. Microwaving not only breaks down human milk’s antibodies to infectious agents, but also it’s lysozymes or bacteria-digesting enzymes. In case you didn’t guess – this is not advantageous.

Vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients in microwaved foods are altered so that the human body has difficulty absorbing them - or absorbs their altered forms - and we don’t know what affects that has. But I am thinking it is probably not good.

It seems that minerals in microwaved foods are converted into cancerous free radicals. We know that is not good.

A steady diet of microwaved foods appears to:
• “Short out” electrical impulses in the brain - like some kind of brain damage
• Alter male and female hormone production – and not for the better
• Increase the number of cancerous cells and cancerous tumors in the human body.
• Alter lymph glands and blood serum negatively affecting the immune responses
• Be associated with loss of memory and concentration, mood swings and decreased intelligence.

Does any of this sound healthy to you?

Rhythms of Life

“There are times to cultivate and create, when you nurture your world and give birth to new ideas and ventures. There are times of flourishing and abundance, when life feels in full bloom, energized and expanding. And there are times of fruition, when things come to an end. They have reached their climax and must be harvested before they begin to fade. And finally of course, there are times that are cold, and cutting and empty, times when the spring of new beginnings seems like a distant dream. Those rhythms in life are natural events. They weave into one another as day follows night, bringing, not messages of hope and fear, but messages of how things are.”
--Chogyam Trungpa

Seasonal Rhythms

The dynamics of your body extends in an expanding range and your physiology is linked to the world and universe at large. Your body changes with the seasons, with the weather, with the atmospheric conditions. Many people can tell in their bones when a change in weather is coming. Human bodies are in synch with the gravitational forces, planetary shifts, the cold and heat, light and dark, humidity and all the other variations that the seasons bring. They respond and shift their functioning according to these natural dynamics. Your body increases and decreases certain functions in response to surrounding influences.

Biological and Geophysical Rhythms and Frequencies

All living organisms are composites of different rhythms and frequencies.

The heart beats approximately once per second but this rate speeds up in the morning and slows down at night; the electrical activity of the human brain cycles in fractions of a second; breathing occurs about sixteen times per minute; many hormones are released in pulses lasting several hours.

Across all species the natural daily rhythmic cycles run in twenty to twenty-eight hours for a natural day. The most conspicuous cycles in plants and animals are these daily rhythms (Circadian). They inter mesh with other cycles that are longer or shorter than a day.

Biological activities and processes are tied to lunar cycling as in monthly processes such as menstruation and also to the earth’s rotation around the sun as is seen in such yearly activities as hibernation, migration, and reproduction.

The seven day week has no obvious geophysical correlate but research suggests that this cultural convention may reflect deep biological rhythms. Seven day rhythms are seen in many illnesses, for example the common cold, and beard growth in men follows a seven day cycle.

Annual seasonal rhythms are less noticeable in humans than in other animals but they do exist. Secretion of the male hormone testosterone surges in the fall, sperm concentration and activity is highest in the winter, and rates of conception peak in the winter. More babies are born in August and September than in other months. Babies born in summer and fall tend to weigh slightly more than babies born in other seasons and they have a greater likelihood of survival. Miscarriages are greater in the fall.

Deaths also have a seasonal pattern. Fatal heart attacks are more common in winter. This is true even in climates that are mild such as Hawaii and also in the southern hemisphere where seasons are reversed. Winter months are the time of lower resistance to infections and of higher cholesterol levels.

Disorders and Seasonal Rhythms

It has been found that people who suffer from depression have skewed body rhythms and cycles. These may include the rhythms of sleep, body temperature, and hormone release. Seasonal rhythms have also come under scrutiny. Suicides peak in the spring usually in May. Admissions to mental hospital for depression also soar in the spring. There is another smaller surge in suicides and hospital admissions in the fall. An external environmental factor - the length of daylight -is believed to an influencing factor.

The Body Has a Master Clock

In the 1960’s researchers found the key generator of body rhythms. Injuring part of a tiny region at the center of the brain known as the hypothalamus caused the loss of many normal rhythms. The hypothalamus commands the sympathetic nervous system. It speeds up breathing and heart rate in moments of danger, regulates body temperature, stimulates appetite and reproduction and controls hormone secretion. Further research found that a critical area of the hypothalamus, the suprachiasmatic nucleus -SCN- a tiny cluster of nerve cells that sits on top of the optic chasm, is the body’s master clock. The SCN directs the body’s various rhythms to work together. The SCN uses daylight signals picked up by the eyes to direct each body rhythm to do its part at the appropriate time, day after day.

Seasonal Changes

Regardless of location, in traditional cultures, there was an awareness that they were continuously affected by the changing seasons. You may live longer and be more healthy if you adapt your health care to the natural rhythms of the earth. Learning to live within the seasonal fluctuations is believed to bring health, harmony and strength to the body. It also provides a natural timetable and rhythm for a good service check and health care program for maintenance and upkeep to prevent accumulated stress from degenerating body responses.

Many people get the flu in the shift from summer to fall. In the peak of winter many suffer from depressive moods. Some people find that if they drink fruit juices or eat a lot of fruit in the winter they will feel cold and damp and get a cold. When it is difficult to adjust from one season to the next our bodies may react through lowered immune responses that leave us more vulnerable to later illness.

Sometimes the body is a bit out of step with all the changes from one season to another. That’s why many people tend to get sick during those shifting times. Sometimes we fail to adapt our habits to be more compatible to our changing body functions in response to the seasonal changes. By being aware of some of these cyclical changes throughout the year we can support shifting body dynamics so as to assist the changes. We can also take advantage of these natural shifting points to expand those dynamics that are increasing/flowing and rest those that are decreasing/ebbing. Many traditional cultures have set up associations of food, drink, activities, energies, dress, organs of the body, and emotions that are related to and affected by the seasonal shifts.

Are You Connected With Your Natural Rhythms?

Your biological clock is set to cue you to certain kinds of activities during certain times of the day. Bodies have thousands of natural rhythms for every biological function. Your moods are regulated by your biological clock. Your brain energy is just like your other natural rhythms – high at certain times of the day and low at other times of the day. Your energy and vitality follow the same natural ebb and flow. When you try to push through those natural rhythms you lose the temporal harmony of your biological clock and desynchronization, malaise, dysfunction and poor performance set in. You will run but you will never be your best.

When all your biological patterns are ebbing and flowing according to their natural rhythms your body is synchronized and performs at its peak. You will have effortless energy and vitality when you live in accordance with your circadian, diurnal, and seasonal rhythms.

Are you aware of any energy cycles that you have? Do you pay attention to these cycles and adjust your activities as needed?

Are you able to go inward and rest when needed, or are you more likely to resist and keep going?

Are you aware of changes in alertness and your thinking abilities and do you use this awareness advantageously?

Do you have the energy and passion for projects that you want to do?

When you must perform at your best do you remain calm, focused and positively energized regardless of the situation?

Are you able to naturally meet the challenges of a situation? Or does it all seem to be too much for you and you just get by as best as you can?

Can you enter a state of calmness, alertness, focus and positive energy whenever you need to regardless of the situation?

If you are worried or feeling upset can you set aside these feelings and be fully engaged in what is happening for you in the moment?

Do you have the energy and motivation to be involved in interesting and challenging situations that call for you to be your best and operate creatively?

If you have answered “no” to any of the above contact me and let’s talk about what is happening for you.