Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who celebrates it! I hope you have a wonderful time with loved ones, and enjoy the incredible bounty of food that continues to be available to us these days. Even though times are hard for many of us, there is still so much to be thankful for.

Did you know that Thanksgiving is also National Family History Day? Ever since 2004, by declaration of the United States Surgeon General, families have been encouraged to talk about and record which health conditions run in the family on Thanksgiving. Preferably not during dinner, if you prefer to keep things polite.

Family history can be a very important screening tool to assess risk and sometimes even diagnose health problems. Families can share common lifestyle, environment, habits and behaviors, diet, and other factors that influence health as well as often sharing genetics. Of course, just because something runs in your family doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily have to deal with it personally, but when it comes to health, knowledge is power.

A complete family history record covers several generations of your extended family, including children, nieces and nephews, brothers and sisters, cousins, parents, aunts and uncles, and grandparents. If you have enough information, going even farther back in your ancestry couldn’t hurt. This can also be a great time to share family stories and explore your heritage.

If you’re not spending the holiday with your family, consider making some phone calls or remembering to bring up medical histories at the next family gathering. A family record can be a very precious gift to give yourself and the next generation.

And if possible, try not to overdo it on the sugar.

What does Holistic Health mean to you? In our modern age, it seems like it has come to mean any form of healthcare that isn’t 100% focused on the physical body and whatever immediate crisis it may be experiencing. Which, when you put it that way, just sounds like Common Sense Health.

Hasn’t our concept of health always been holistic? Even back when everyday survival was a challenge, health wasn’t simply an absence of physical symptoms; it was the ability to thrive. Illness was a sign of systemic unbalance, often indicating that something was amiss with the mind, body, and spirit. Our early ancestors may not have understood the mechanisms of disease, and often had little success treating it, but their model of health makes sense. A happy, fulfilled, physically vibrant person is truly healthy.

Of course we’ve made a lot of progress since then. Our life expectancy is longer. We’re generally taller, most of us have plenty to eat, and we can survive diseases that used to ravage populations. But we seem to define health exclusively in terms of subtraction: fight disease, lose the weight, kick that habit. And these are all good ideas, certainly, but if that’s all we do something is still missing. To nourish your mind, body, and spirit you must embrace positive things as well as reject the negative. That’s what makes health holistic.

We have something else that our ancestors lacked, though, and it is the key. We have knowledge. It’s easier for us to access information than it has ever been for any generation in history. We can learn about different healing modalities, theories, spiritual directions, tools, and perspectives. Indeed, sometimes with so many options it can be overwhelming. It’s hard to know which of them is right for us, but the pursuit of true full-being health is the most important adventure we can possibly undertake. It’s worth beginning the journey, and it’s worth sticking with it.

At Holistic Palooza 2011, a free natural health festival at Irene’s this weekend, you can spend all day exploring. You can participate in yoga classes or watch vegetarian cooking demonstrations. You can get a free massage, or attend classes about the Golden Rule, Muscle Testing, Healthy Relationships, and much more. You can meet other people who are also on their own personal quests to become as magnificently healthy as possible. You can choose your own path, and experience whatever you feel nourishes you. That’s what holistic health is really about.

We hope to see you there. We hope you find something there that changes your life, even if it’s just a little bit, for the better.

Excitedly I arrived at yoga teacher school extra early for my first day.  My teacher is someone that I respect and consider a friend. I feel totally honored to be taking this journey with her at the helm of my ship.  There are 11 soon to be yoga teachers sharing this experience. Though we are together, each persons path is truly solitary. This morning we were fully immersed in challenging asanas. In the mid afternoon our minds were stimulated with a yoga discourse on the history and types of yoga……

Ellyn Gray works at Irene’s Myomassology Institute, she is a graduate of Irene’s, a Reiki Master Practitioner, and currently in school to become a yoga teacher.   You can follow her experience by clicking the link below.  Subscribe to her blog to get regular updates.

The full blog

Irene’s

Yes really! Of course at the age of 31 I was not ready to hear or even think about premenopause or any variation of it. But when I started to have sweat running down my arm pits, and glistening beads rolling from my forehead out of the blue, I eventually started to ask myself what is happening.  I was in denial for a moment (ok several months) until I started to ask women in their 40’s and 50’s what a hot flash felt like.  The first account I got was that it felt like heat from the inside of your body radiating outward.  The second account was me at my moms house talking to her, and all of a sudden her face begin to glisten.  So in my ignorance I said “Why are you so greasy?”  Now I know why from my own personal hot flashes or as a wise crone colleague of mine likes to call them “Power Surges”.

It still took me some time to figure out what to do about this “problem”. I had already been on synthetic progesterone a few years ago for abnormal periods and I was not willing to go that route again.  My diet was great, I was exercising regularly, my blood pressure was perfect and I had no health concerns. I even had my thyroid checked and everything else was in working order.  Except that I begin having night sweats.  There’s nothing like the first time you wake up in the middle of the night to a totally drenched bed, and you’re stuck to your covers wondering, “Have I been punked?  Did someone soak my sheets?”

So of course I had to come up with a solution. Not only was I messing up my shirts with the sweating, my emotions were all over the place, even more than that of normal PMS.  I needed relief from it all and I turned to Mother Nature’s pharmacy for just that.  The first thing I decided to tackle were the emotions, one of my co-workers helped me out by grabbing the book Prescription For Nutritonal Healing out of Irene’s Store (this is the best health reference book I’ve seen to date for all sorts of health conditions and how to heal them naturally).  So what we found were an amazing combination for me.

For the emotions

B-Complex is great to use to reduce stress levels, maintain energy levels and support the nervous system.
L-Tyrosine helps to increase dopamine levels, supports the relaxation response and is being used in weight loss formulas due to its ability to act as a natural appetite suppressant.

Bach Flower Rescue Remedy has been around for over 60 years, it is a homeopathic remedy used to help relieve stress, and is only needed in minute quantities to be effective.  I take this as needed.

For hormonal balance

Black Currant Seed Oil is used for a multitude of reasons including hormonal balance and decreasing discomfort and depression associated with premenopause and premenstrual tension.
Vitex is great to balance hormones, and it doesn’t matter if it’s for premenopause or irregular periods it will help your body find and maintain the balance that it needs to be in harmony.
I have been using a combination of these above herbs and nutrients and they have been working wonders.  I don’t have sweat pouring from my arm pits by the buckets any more and my emotional state has been much more balanced (and yes, I consulted someone other than myself about my emotional state).  If you are having symptoms or think that you may be consult your physician, and don’t let anyone tell you that you are too young.  Only your body can determine that.  You may also want to read more about it.  The one book I know of that is holistic and comes from a realistic perspective is: “What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause.”

With a little bit of nature’s medicine you can take control of the power surges!

The information provided on this site is intended for your general knowledge only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment for specific medical conditions. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. The information on this website is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.