PART 1: Patients turn to homeopathic remedies instead of traditional medicine

AUSTIN — Homeopathy is a system of medicine that’s been around for 200 years. It’s based on the principle that you can treat like with like. (Watch the Video and Read More…)

PART 2: Patients turn to homeopathic remedies instead of traditional medicine

AUSTIN — In addition to Homeopathy, a form of alternative medicine that some patients find more appealing than conventional medical techniques, two more non-traditional forms of healing have produced patients who swear by the results. (Watch the Video and Read More…)

Today one year draws to a close and another opens up in front of us. It’s a good day to take stock of what we have, what we’ve done, and what we are, as well as take a moment to reflect on what we would like to accomplish, and who we would like to be in the year to come. Every decision we make, and ever action we undertake moves us closer or farther from those things, and from optimal health. It can be daunting, even overwhelming to try to sort through all the options we have in our lives and try to find the best ones, or perhaps you feel hemmed in as if you have only one choice and it’s not the one you want. Regardless, on this day with all that is behind falling away and everything ahead drawing close it is important to find a place in the middle where we can think.

My first suggestion- breathe. If you’re one of my patients than I’ve probably made this suggestion to you before, and if you’re not then I’m making it now. This is one of the most important things you can do for your health, and not just in a ‘if you don’t breathe, you die’ sort of way. A mindful focus on breathing, and breathing well can make more difference to your health then all the pills in the world. At this turning point, good breathing is all the more important. The lungs, in Chinese Medicine, control not only physical breathing, but the emotional aspect of intake and release. The energy of the lungs helps us to draw in the things we need to survive and be well, and helps us to breathe out and release the things that have grown old, stale, and no longer useful. Sounds like a good thing to do today.

The other thing I would suggest for a day like today, or maybe even over the course of this week as we settle back into our lives from the holidays is just stand. The world is full of meditative standing exercises (one called Standing Post is my favorite, and I’ll explain it briefly below but feel free to look around). The idea here is to simply stand in one place and be; be connected to the world around you, be connected to the earth beneath you, and be connected to something bigger then yourself for a little while. Try not to let your thoughts get in the way, and if you can do this for even five minutes you’ll start to find that all those lingering losses that cling to you will fall away, and all the roads before you seem a little clearer and more manageable. After all, if you can’t stand in one place how can you ever hope to get anywhere!

So for New Years, here’s something you can do to help get through the madness. (If you are currently pregnant, or suspect you might be pregnant don’t do this exercise, or do it sitting in a chair)

Standing Post-
Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Soften your knees slightly and make sure your back is straight and erect. Your head should feel like it’s suspended from above with your spine hanging from it like a heavy strand of pearls. Let your weight settle into your feet (for more on your feet see the previous post). Your hands should rest lightly on the fronts of your thighs. Keep you shoulders relaxed and your gaze unfocused and looking at the ground past the end of your nose. Now breathe. Slow, deep, even, soft, thin, easy breaths. Let your mind be clear. Feel the ground beneath your feet and the sky above your head. You are the connection between them, like a lightning rod and you are deeply connected to both. Remain in this position for as long as you like. I recommend about ten minutes to start out.

Once you’ve completed this practice? Have a Happy New Year!

We are not our bodies and the body is not a machine, nor are we a spirit trapped in physical form just waiting to be done… or at least I don’t think so. I think that the body is an elegant tapestry woven from threads made up of countless aspects- body, mind, light, energy, vibration, spirit- all pulled together to create an image of such marvelous intricacy that even with all our vast knowledge we only barely begin to understand it.

I digress. This blog is not about my personal view on reality, but about what you can do to be healthier and live more fully. Which is to say; this blog is about integration.

Why integration you might ask, because only when we begin to integrate ourselves- our body with our spirit, our mind with our heart, ourselves with our society, our society with nature- only then can we live the healthy and balanced lives we were meant to live.

That being said those of you who elect to become readers of this blog will be treated to and guided through a journey toward integration. I will provide you with ideas and more importantly suggestions and exercises you can practice in your own life in order to start becoming more fully integrated with yourself. After all, we must look to ourselves before we look beyond.

As every journey starts with a single step we’ll begin with you feet, or more specifically how you stand. Most of us do it wrong. You’d think it would be impossible to do something wrong that you do so often and so naturally, but over years of high heels and arch supports our feet have given up the ghost and left us to suffer the consequences, which are usually things like back pain, knee pain, sciatica, and the like. The problem is that when most of us stand we stand on our heels, but our heels aren’t very good for standing.

The heel is one large bone known as the Calcaneus and as well all know a bone has very little give to it, which is good in a lot of situations but not overly helpful when it comes to cushioning our weight as it is distributed into our skeletal structure. The secret to solving this problem is to shift our weight forward off the heel of the foot to a point just behind the ball of the foot. This point, known as the bubbling well in Chinese Medicine lays between three arches of the foot. These arches act like the shock absorbers on your car, helping to disperse the weight of your body through a flexible structure.

This simple shift can provide a world of difference, but isn’t that always the case.

So for now, try to change the way you stand (and while you’re at it you might want to consider the shoes you wear because most of our shoes are designed with the heel standing in mind). Take a few moments in your day to pay attention to your weight, to how it falls and how that makes you feel. When you first make the shift it will take some getting used to, most people say they feel like they’re going to fall over forward, but stick with it. It’s worth it.

Take some time with your feet, and next time we’ll talk about grounding.

“It is more important to know what sort of person has a disease than to know what sort of disease a person has.” -Hippocrates

Welcome to our Innovation in Integration Blog

We are integrated health practitioners who share the belief that true health is that state of mind, body and spirit that allows for optimal function, repair and regeneration. We believe in the inherent capacity of every individual to heal him or herself with the appropriate guidance, education and motivation.

We practice cooperatively with the shared purpose of providing the necessary educational tools, information and treatment, for each person to go beyond just feeling better to achieving absolute peak performance with your most optimal health possible. We coach and encourage lifestyle adjustments, help reduce stress and tension, assist your body in detoxification and balance body chemistry. The end result is individuals that take greater responsibility for their own health and become less dependent on others.

The human body is one of the most complex organisms on the planet. It takes a matrix of biological systems to make it function efficiently. Stated simply, metabolism is the process by which our body converts food into energy and mass. During this complex biochemical process, calories — from carbohydrates, fats and proteins — are combined with oxygen to release the energy our body needs to function. But just eating proper amounts of carbohydrates, fats and proteins is not the total answer to optimal health. Eating healthy, wholesome, food is the start, but how well do we digest, absorb, utilize and eliminate?

Each day you are bombarded by pollutants in our fresh water supply, our food and in the air. They’re colorless, odorless and tasteless. You breathe them in as you walk around your house, drive to work, or walk outside. They’re under your sink, in your vanity and are likely in your refrigerator. You serve them to your family as pesticide-covered fruits and vegetables and hormone-filled meats. The dangers don’t stop there–they’re absorbed into your bloodstream each time you clean your house, wash your clothes, and apply skin products to your face and body. These toxins not only wreak havoc on your organs and health compromising your immune, cardiovascular, respiratory, and neurological systems they suppress your body’s natural ability to heal and absorb life-sustaining vitamins. Take the steps today to remove the build up of toxins from your body, improve your health and reverse the signs of premature aging.