Many people have moved away from listening to their own body and depend on their different doctors and media sources to measure their wellness, rather than getting quiet and tuning in. The lifestyle doctor helps us relearn how to tune in and analyze our health as uniquely ours. 

In our May feature on Lifestyle Medicine for Managing Stress titled “Solving Stress – Holistic Tips From Lifestyle Doctors,” by Linda Sechrist, we find medicine changing as a new class of doctor’s endeavor to treat the whole person rather than the symptoms of disease, helping their patients achieve optimal health with lifestyle changes, medicine, herbs, supplements, and modalities tailored to the individual. No longer reaching for a prescription pad as often, these functional and integrative physicians are spending an average of 45 minutes per office visit. Using their sleuthing skills and innovative skillsets, they ask probing questions about a patient’s current lifestyle and history, pinpoint the root cause of a problem and craft customized solutions. 

WISE WORDS titled “Carol Penn on Finding Calm in a Chaotic World,” in this article Sandra Yeyati catches up with Dr. Carol Penn, double board-certified in family and obesity medicine, is a movement, meditation and mindset coach who teaches people to prioritize self-care to achieve their best and highest selves. She is certified in mind-body medicine, fitness and personal training, yoga and qigong, and draws inspiration and wisdom from a previous career as a dancer and dance educator with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Penn is the author of Meditation in a Time of Madness: A Guidebook for Talented Tweens, Teens, Their Parents and Guardians Who Need to Thrive.

GREEN LIVING titled “Gardening Therapy – Healing Mind, Body and Spirit in the Yard,” by Sheryl DeVore. Gardening outdoors adds color and texture to yards and neighborhoods, and with the right plants, attracts pollinators, whose numbers are declining. It also can improve human health. The exercise, sunshine and fresh air promote mental and physical health, and so does our contact with soil microbes and the harmonious patterns of nature.    

I try to do some form of exercise every day and I count my time working in the garden. I no longer run marathons, so it seems relative to our phase in life. Ten years ago, gardening would have never been a substitute for one of my weekly measured runs, but these days I am content with the garden and no longer feel the need to pound the pavement 8 hours a week. Even though I continue to be more active than most, these days watching the butterfly’s and migratory birds return in the Spring brings me a great deal of joy! 

To conscious living,

Pamela Gallina, Publisher