Natural Awakenings Emerald Coast May 2015

1 Natural Awakenings of Northwest Florida www.NWFNaturally.com

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NATURAL CHILDBIRTH

Gently Ushering a Baby into the World

BOSOM BUDDIESNatural Approaches to Breast Health

EATING SKINNYWhy Vegans and Vegetarians are Naturally Trim

May 2015 | Emerald Coast | NWFNaturally.com Okaloosa/Walton County

PET VACCINE ALTERNATIVES

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• Manual therapies: Massage, reflexology, and Acupressure

• nutrition and Aging

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The air conditioning and heat-ing (HVAC) system in residen-tial A/C units consumes about

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This problem can be greatly mitigated by having a clean A/C coil (the part of the system where heat is removed from the air). The conventional method of coil cleaning is to have the coil removed and acid washed periodically. This is a colossal waste of time and money. With the use of Everclean Green’s Force Field system, the HVAC is Self-Cleaning. The performance of a HVAC system can improve by as much as 35%, saving up to 2000 kWh per year per system by installing Everclean Green. With this system you

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contentsNatural Awakenings is your guide to a healthier, more balanced life. In each issue readers find cutting-edge information on natural health, nutrition, fitness, personal growth, green living, creative expression and the products and services that support a healthy lifestyle.

26 BRIDGING THE GAP Amy Likins Rediscovers Her Reason for Teaching Yoga in Cuba by Kyla Stevens

28 RETHINKING BREAST HEALTH Natural Ways to Keep Breasts Smooth, Pain-Free and Firm, while Reducing the Risk of Cancer by Lisa Marshall

32 EATING SKINNY Why Vegans and Vegetarians are Naturally Trim by Judith Fertig

34 LAURA PREPON’S JOURNEY TO HEALTH Home Cooking, Organics and Massage Are Key by Gerry Strauss

36 PET VACCINE ALTERNATIVES Natural Steps to Nurture Immunity by Shawn Messonnier

38 GIVING BIRTH NATURALLY Conscious Choices Lead to Less Intervention by Meredith Montgomery

4 1 ENCOURAGING COUPLES’ FERTILITY Acupuncture Improves the Reproduction Process by Anaya Palay

28

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58HOW TO ADVERTISE Pricing is available online on our Advertising page. To advertise with Natural Awakenings call 850-687-0825 or email [email protected]. Deadline for ads: the 15th of the month.

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contents

1 3 newsbriefs

1 6 healthbriefs

1 8 globalbriefs

20 ecotip

24 community spotlight

32 consciouseating

34 wisewords

36 naturalpet

38 healingways

4 1 fitbody

42 calendar

44 classifieds

45 resourceguide

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Daralyn and Scott Chase

© 2015 by Natural Awakenings. All rights reserved. Although some parts of this publication may be reproduced and reprinted, we require that prior permission be obtained in writing.

Natural Awakenings is a free publication distrib-uted locally and is supported by our advertis-ers. It is available in selected stores, health and education centers, healing centers, public libraries and wherever free publications are generally seen. Please call to find a location near you or if you would like copies placed at your business.

We do not necessarily endorse the views expressed in the articles and advertisements, nor are we re-sponsible for the products and services advertised. We welcome your ideas, articles and feedback.

SUBSCRIPTIONSSubscriptions are available

by sending $36 (for 12 issues) to the above address or

order online at NWFNaturally.com.

Natural Awakenings is printed on recycled newsprint with soy- based ink.

contact usPUBLISHER

Daralyn Chase [email protected]

CO-PUBLISHER/ DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING

Scott Chase, (ext. 702) [email protected]

EDITOR Martin Miron

GRAPHICS & LAYOUTCourtney Ayers

Michele Rose

CALENDAR EDITORThomas Masloski

NATIONAL AD SALES 239-449-8309

FRANCHISE SALES 239-530-1377

NATURAL AWAKENINGSEMERALD COAST850-460-3266, office

888-228-8238, toll free 888-370-0618, fax

P.O. Box 945Destin, Florida 32540

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letterfrompublisher

I’m interested in women’s health because I’m a woman. I’d be a darn fool not to be on my own side.

~Maya Angelou

Women’s bodies are mysterious and complicate. But then again, we juggle super kids, stressful jobs, demanding in-laws and messy homes in the midst

of setting our intentions and realizing our destinies during yoga class, attending workshop and volunteering where our passion leads us… and at the end of the day, we expect our doctors to know what’s wrong with us. No one understands this more than Natural Awaken-ings, which is why every month we focus on women’s wellness with simple solutions and blissful ways to handle our complicated bodies and our inspired journeys. This month, we are pleased to offer an especially wide array of articles featuring the latest advice on natural and integrative wellness options for women, especially concerning breast health, pregnancy and childbirth. Every woman, regardless of her age and stage in life, will find information here that she can use to enhance her physical and mental health so that she’ll be in the race for years to come. Our feature story, “Rethinking Breast Health,” is a refreshing departure from the typical take on a subject that strikes fear in the hearts of so many women. While breast cancer is a serious topic that should be on everyone’s radar, breasts are not our enemies. Or, as Dr. Christiane Northrup, an OB-GYN and author, so aptly puts it in our article, “It concerns me that women feel pressured to think of their breasts as two potentially pre-malignant lesions sitting on their chests.” Writer Lisa Marshall lists several natural ways to keep the breasts healthy, gives the low-down on issues like fibrous or tender breasts and breast implants and explains how the breasts serve as a barometer for a woman’s overall health. Our readers who are pregnant (or who plan to be) will find some comforting options, from our Healing Ways department on natural childbirth and making the best choice, to local acupuncturist Anaya Palay’s article on improving the repro-ductive process with the ancient expertise of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Plus, Pensacolas midwife Vicki Taylor-Breheim provides a wealth of information to keep mom and baby healthy and comfortable all along the way. If you are interested in other complications a woman’s body may mysteriously offer up, our Community Spotlight on Northwest Florida’s first functional medicine practitioner, Doctor Peter Kozlowski, shares his philosophy on “whole health” and how his cutting-edge training and experience can help those who may feel they have no alternatives. We always encourage readers to recycle or pass along Natural Awakenings after they read it. But if you’re a woman, don’t forget to keep one issue for yourself. After all, taking care of yourself is at the top on the list.

Happy, healthy Mothers’ Day

Scott & Daralyn


Hot Yoga OmOffers Radiant Infrared Heat

Hot Yoga Om has opened at 222 Miracle Strip Parkway South-

east, Unit A, in downtown Fort Walton Beach. Laura Tyree, owner of Dragonfly Yoga, has partnered with Felicia McQuaid, owner of THE Healing Clinic, to combine yoga with infrared heat. Both have been inspiring and teaching others for more than a decade throughout the Emerald Coast. As an introduc-tory offer, the first class is $5. This radiant energy is the same kind we receive directly from the sun, not an artificial heater using a coil or flame. Far-infrared heat is absorbed by the skin and heats the body from within. “We believe this practice will draw in the next generation of yogis,” says Tyree. “It challenges the body, strengthens the mind and opens the radiant heart.” Hot Yoga OM offers classes for all levels at a temperature selected by the instructor between 90 and 105 degrees. There are no mat rentals, but an inexpensive yoga mat can be purchased there. Other requirements include a large towel, a dry shirt and drinking water.

For more information, call 850-217-2771 or visit HotYogaOm.com. See ad, page 7.

Conscious Connected Breathing at East of Eden

Jack Anthony Fontana, a Level III professional breath worker, will con-

duct a Conscious Connected Breath-ing Experience from 3 to 5:30 p.m., May 16, at East of Eden Retreat and Spa, to allow participants to empower themselves with their breath and re-lieve stress and anxiety naturally. CCB is a technique that facili-tates letting go of stress, anxiety and stored suppression, creating the possibility for freedom, profound relaxation, improved breathing and self-acceptance. The workshop includes a complete explanation of the process, one breathing session and the processing of experiences, all within a safe, private and loving environ-ment. Participants should bring a pillow and blanket to the session.

Cost is $60. Location: 234 Dog Hobble Ln., Santa Rosa Beach. Call 850-797-4754 to register. For more information, visit JackFontana.com.

Natural Awakenings Helps Sponsor The Real Truth About Health

Conference in Orlando

More than 30 of the most popular and influential leading thought leaders, experts and authors from

a wide variety of wellness fields will be sharing their knowledge, insights and remedies at The Real Truth

About Health Conference from May 22 to 31 at the Caribe Royale All-Suite Hotel and Conference Center,

in Orlando. This free event is a partnership between the Hippocrates Institute, TheRealTruthAboutHealthConference.

com and Brian Clement, Ph.D., author of LifeForce and director of the Hippocrates Health Institute. Joining Clement as presenting authors at what organizers term the nation’s largest health, nutrition and environmental conference, will be Dr. T. Campbell, The China Study; Gary Null, Ph.D., The Healthy Vegetarian; Dr. Helene Caldicott, Crisis Without End; Robert Whitaker, Anatomy of an Epidemic; David Simon, Mea-tonomics; David Kirby, Animal Factory; Joel Fuhrman, The End of Diabetes; Jeffrey Smith, Seeds of Deception; and director of the film PlantPure Nation, Nelson Campbell, plus many others. “Our Natural Awakenings network of publishers is excited to help support this important event as a sponsor and exhibitor in Orlando,” says company CEO Sha-ron Bruckman. “We hope our readers will take advantage of this free conference by attending or registering online for these 10 days of empowering information and inspiration.”

Those that cannot attend the conference can watch a live stream or a replay of the presentations on their computers. Location: 8101 World Center Dr. For more infor-mation and to view the full schedule, visit TheRealTruthAboutHealthConference.com. Those interested in being vendors or other sponsorship opportunities, call 516-605-0459 by May 15. Hotel phone: 407-238-8000. Also visit HippocratesInst.org. See ad, page 37.

newsbriefs


newsbriefs

Gulf Place Summer Camps

Gulf Place on 30A, located in Santa Rosa Beach, is accept-ing registrations for summer camps and workshops that

run between June 1 through August 8. The Artists at Gulf Place and 30A Learning Academy will host interactive workshops and adventure camps that will keep kids engaged and active. The Gulf Place community offers accommodations, swimming, tennis, dining, shopping and the beauty of the clear, emerald green waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Preregistration is not required for the Artists at Gulf Place workshops, which include Metal Flowers with Billie Gaffrey; Tie-dye with Kris Ogdon; Sealife Creatures with David Han-sel; and Pet Shells with Maxine Orange. Stay on top of events at Facebook.com/artistsatgulfplace. Other highlights include Kids/Parents Night Out every Wednesday and Adventure Camps that encourage children to get outdoors and explore.

To register, call Rebecca Matherne at 850-291-7197 or e-mail [email protected]. For more information, visit GulfPlaceFL.com.

Healthy Start Okaloosa Walton World’s Greatest Baby Shower

Pregnant women

and new par-ents that have had a baby in the last three months will want to at-tend Healthy

Start Okaloosa-Walton’s World's Greatest Baby Shower at 5:30 p.m., May 21, at the Emerald Coast Convention Center. There will be as many as 50 information stations on topics such as parenting, prenatal health, new baby care and community resources, as well as snacks, games and prizes. The nonprofit Healthy Start Community Coalition for Okaloosa-Walton counties is guided by a volunteer board of directors as part of a statewide system of coalitions that provide services to pregnant women and their babies.

Admission is free. Location: 1250 Miracle Strip Pkwy. SE, Fort Walton Beach. For more information, call 850-833-9284 email [email protected] or visit HealthyStar-tOkaWalton.org.

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New Oxygen Therapy andIV Lounge Open in Destin

Hydroxy Mod-

ern Therapy Lounge has opened at 230 Harbor Boulevard, in Destin, offering intravenous hydra-

tion therapy, minerals, fluids and vitamins that are absorbed instantly, producing rapid results and providing relief for a variety of common complaints associated with dehydration. Hydroxy is a modern therapy lounge that offers clients a new approach to nutritious intravenous hydration far from busy and uncomfortable emergency rooms. In this quiet and relax-ing atmosphere that feels like a spa with lounge chairs, free Wi-Fi, blankets, magazines, coffee, water, earplugs, eye masks and flat-screen televisions, licensed healthcare professionals follow physicians’ orders and protocols, assess their clients' condition and deliver fluids, medications, vitamins and other nutritional supplements directly into the bloodstream. Owner Carolina Martin Santos states, “Now, the rela-tively common symptoms of vitamin deficiency and dehydra-tion caused by certain health conditions, the flu, vomiting, hangover or physical exhaustion in anyone from business professionals to athletes can safely be treated outside of an emergency room or clinical setting.”

For more information, call 850-460-8700, email [email protected] or visit HydroxyFl.com.

Kid’s Yoga at Sunshine Yoga Studio

Hosted by Sun-

shine Yoga, Kid’s Yoga classes led by Kim Mosby will be offered from 4:30

p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursdays, in six-week sessions. The course is recommended for children ages 5 through 12, or those with previous yoga experience. Taught through a mixture of discussion, movement and song, Sunshine Kid’s Yoga helps develop knowledge of both physical poses and core yoga principles.

Cost is $80 for six weeks or $15 drop-in. Location: 211 Main St., Ste. E, Destin. For more information, call 850-687-8603 or visit SunshineYogaStudio.com.

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healthbriefs

Italian Court Links Boy’s Autism to a Vaccine

Last September, a Milan Court held in favor of plaintiffs that claimed that three doses of the hexavalent GlaxoSmithKline vaccine Infanrix

Hexa that were administered to an infant beginning in 2006 caused autism later when he was a young boy. The vaccine is used for polio, diphtheria, tetanus, hepatitis B, whooping cough and haemophilus influenzae type B. After hearing from several medical experts, the court ruled that the child likely suffered autism and brain damage as a result of the vaccine’s content of mercury and aluminum, combined with a genetic mutation in the child rendering greater susceptibility. The ruling ordered damages to be paid by the Italian government’s national vac-cine injury compensation program. The court’s decision was also based upon GlaxoSmithKline’s list of possible adverse events resulting from the vaccine, which included five cases of autism during clinical trials. Today in the U.S., most vaccines routinely given to children under 6 years of age are free of thimerosal, a mercury-derived preservative.

Weight Gain in Moms Lowers Toxins in Newborns

Many expectant mothers try to know about ev-erything they put into and onto their bodies as

multiple studies are finding that infants are exposed to toxins during pregnancy. A new study of 325 expectant mothers has determined that the baby’s exposure to toxins in the womb decreases when the mother’s weight gain during pregnancy approaches the guidelines recommended by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in 2009. Women that are under-weight at the start of pregnancy are advised to gain between 28 and 40 pounds, women of a healthy weight 25 to 35 pounds, overweight women 15 to 25 pounds and obese women 11 to 20 pounds.

The researchers found that expectant mothers with a gestational weight that meets or exceeds the IOM guidelines gave birth to infants with reduced toxin levels. In their analysis of the umbilical cord blood of mothers from Spain, the researchers tested for 14 pesticides and 21 other environmental toxins, including seven polychlorobiphenyls (PCB). Other influencers such as age, education and fish consumption may also be relevant.

To Get Healthy, Get a Healthy PartnerHaving a healthier partner may be

one of the best things to do for our own health. Research published in the Journal of the American Medical As-sociation Internal Medicine finds that losing weight, stop-ping smoking or becoming more active is easier with a partner that has led the way in any or all healthy pursuits. The study authors reviewed data collected by the UK Health Behav-ior Research Center at the University College London that followed 3,700 couples between 2002 and 2012—most of them ages 50 and older and married. Those that smoked at the be-ginning of the study were more likely to quit by the end of it if their partners quit smoking, and those that were physically inactive at the beginning of the study were more likely to become active if their partners did so first. About two-thirds of the men became newly active during the course of the study. Men with wives that had lost weight were more likely to also shed pounds during the study, and women with husbands that didn’t lose weight were less likely to do so through the study period.

I’m interested in women’s health because I’m a woman. I’d be a darn fool not to be on my own side.

~Maya Angelou


Meditation Improves Brain HealthHarvard Medical School research-

ers working at the Massachusetts General Hospital have determined that meditation can improve brain health. The researchers studied 16 volunteers that took part in an eight-week mindful-ness meditation study at the University of Massachusetts Center for Mindfulness. The participants conducted mind-fulness meditation exercises for an average of 27 minutes a day. Before and after the trial, the subjects were given tests and magnetic resonance imaging of their brains. The researchers found that the practice of mindfulness meditation re-sulted in increased gray matter density in the hippocampus of the brain, an area associated with increased memory and learning capacity, plus a greater sense of compassion and introspection.

Silica from Bamboo ExtractBenefits Hair GrowthBamboo is an edible grass that has

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globalbriefsNews and resources to inspire concerned citizens to work together in building a healthier, stronger society that benefits all.

Corporate ClimateCompanies Slowly Embrace Sustainability

The 2015 State of Green Business report (Tinyurl.com/2015GreenBusinessReport), which assesses the environmental performances of companies world-wide, along with the trends to watch, is produced by GreenBiz, in partnership with Trucost. Collectively, companies have been nibbling at the edges of challenges such as climate change, food security, ecosystems preservation and resource effi-ciency. One measure of corporate engagement going

forward will be proactive involvement on political issues that could accelerate the transition to a low-carbon and more sustainable economy. It remains to be seen whether companies can afford to sit on the sidelines, letting the political process unfold, or worse, play defense against changes that might roil their status quo. 2015 will be an interesting year on multiple fronts, especially with the launch of the new sustainable development goals at the United Nations (UN) in New York this fall, along with UN climate talks in Paris in December. Both will be tests of corporate engagement and resolve in driving the kinds of change many of their CEOs publicly call for. The reports’ findings of companies’ progress in greenhouse gas and emissions, air pollutants, water use and solid waste production are all leveling off or even declining.

Dirty DollarsStores Filled with Toxic ProductsHealthyStuff, a project of the Michigan-based Ecology Center, in collabora-tion with the Campaign for Healthier Solutions (CHS), has released a report, A Day Late and a Dollar Short: Dis-count Retailers are Falling Behind on Safer Chemicals, about toxic chemi-cals found in dollar store products. It includes test results for 164 dollar store products such as toys, jewelry, school supplies and household items and found that 81 percent contained at least one hazardous chemical above a level that generates concern.” The campaign sent a letter to the CEOs of the four largest dollar store chains, including Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, Dollar General, and 99 Cents Only, urging them to stop the sale of these unsafe products, espe-cially to communities of low-income and ethnic families that already live in more polluted areas and food deserts, and adopt policies that will instead protect both customers and their own businesses. Combined, these discount chains have annual sales totaling more than $36 billion and operate more stores nationally than Walmart. The CHS is asking for a compre-hensive set of reforms; communities need to let dollar store chains know that they want safer products and join local and national efforts advocating for nontoxic products.

Scroll to Dollar Store Report at Healthy Stuff.org for the complete test results. Take action at NontoxicDollarStores.org.

Animal Genocide‘Lethal Control’ Trades Off SpeciesOver the next four years, the U. S. Army Corps of En-gineers will shoot 16,000 double-crested cormorants nesting near the Columbia River, in Oregon, at a cost of $1.5 million a year and eliminate almost 100 sea lions because both feed on endangered salmon and steelhead trout. “If people knew how many animals are killed at taxpayer expense, they’d be horrified,” says Camilla Fox, executive director of Project Coyote, a San Francisco Bay Area nonprofit. Termed “lethal control”, there’s a growing trend to kill one species to protect another, and not all methods used are humane. In 2012, Dennis Orthmeyer, acting director of California’s Wildlife Services, said, “We pride ourselves on our ability to get it done without many people knowing about it.” Climate change, reduced habitat and food supplies, and the introduction of non-native species are the result of human interference. “With society’s growing footprint, lethal control can only increase,” observes Michael Scott, a University of Idaho ecologist. A plan to poison 4,000 ravens will protect greater sage grouse. More moun-tain lions will be killed to save bighorn sheep. The human rampage goes on, and concerned citizens are advised to urge lawmakers to end lethal control and protect wildlife habitat sustainably.

Take action at Tinyurl.com/AnimalLiberationFrontCampaign.


Eco-EatingTown Eateries Embrace SustainabilityThe city of Maplewood, Missouri, outside St. Louis, has teamed up with the Green Dining Alliance to become the area’s first Green Dining District, with at least 25 percent of all of its in-dependently owned businesses certified by the Green Dining Alliance (GDA). The GDA helps businesses with sustain-ability and green business practices while also helping them save money. So far, eight restaurants in downtown Maplewood are GDA-certified. Green Dining Alliance’s Olivia Engel says, “It’s a win-win that makes sense for businesses and communi-ties.” The city is also encouraging the program by subsidizing Green Dining Alliance membership fees.

View updates at GreenDiningAlliance.org.

Enflamed WaterHome Flame Retardants Found in River Scientists with the Washington Toxics Coalition tested household dust and laundry wastewater from 20 homes in the state’s cities of Longview and Vancouver and took samples of incoming and outgoing flow from two wastewater treatment plants that discharge into the Columbia River, the Northwest’s biggest waterway. They de-tected flame retardants in all the tests. The conclusion of the study, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, is that flame retardants are sloughing off household products such as couches and TVs and collecting on people’s clothing, wash-ing out in the laundry and passing through wastewater treatment plants into local waterways.

Source: WaToxics.org

March Against Monsanto Rallies In Northwest Florida

A worldwide grassroots group March Against

Monsanto has inspired a broad coalition of individuals and groups to gather in cities and towns all over the world as part of a global effort to raise public awareness and bring increasing political pressure to bear regarding Monsanto’s corporate farm-ing and business practices and to insist upon labeling of foods that contain genetically modified organisms (GMO). The Northwest Florida region wide rally will take place on May 23, at the Panama City Bridge from 9 to 11a.m., on Miracle Strip Parkway, in front of Synergy Organic Cafe and Juice Bar from noon to 2 p.m., and on Airport Road, in front of the Fresh Market parking lot from 3 to 5 p.m. An estimated 428 cities in 38 countries on six continents will be participating in the Global March Against Monsanto for a peaceful, non-vi-olent, informational protest. GMOs have been banned by Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, Madeira, New Zealand, Peru, Russia, France and Switzerland. Monsanto and other companies such as Dow and Syngenta genetically engineered food that poses scientifically established health risks that include organ damage, sterility, infant mortality, birth defects, immune reactions, al-lergies and increased cancer risk. Marcher’s demands include solidarity against Monsanto predatory busi-ness and agricultural practices, rejecting "substantial equivalence" of GMO and traditional crops, independent scientific testing of GMO crops, promot-ing organic solutions, exposing the cronyism between big business and the government, addressing poverty, the real cause of global hunger, supporting food and seed sovereignty, supporting local farms, bees and biodiversity and labeling of all foods that contain GMOs. Long-time activist and member of the Gateway Greens, Daniel Romano warns, “Monsanto is bankrupting famers and causing soil infertility, mono-cropping, loss of biodiversity and beehive collapse. Their practices pose a very real threat to organic farming and loss of native plants and are creating dependency on a centralized food system. In aggregate, this is a recipe for global famine.” An Open Letter from World Scientists to All Governments Concerning Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) (see i-sis.org.uk/list.php), signed by 828 scientists from 84 countries, details their concern regarding GMOs and a call for immediate five-year suspension of GMO crops in order to conduct “a comprehensive public enquiry of agriculture and food security for all.”

For updates, visit March Against Monsanto NW Florida, Panama City to Pen-sacola. For more information, visit March-Against-Monsanto.com.


ecotipRaised RightOrganic Flowers Honor Mom and Mother EarthThe Mother’s Day tradition of gifting mom with flowers, including such perennial favor-ites as lilies, orchids, tulips and roses, can be practiced in a sustainable manner. Buying organic varieties protects workers, families and the environment. Flowers grown with conventional tech-niques contribute to the contamination of groundwater and streams through fertilizer and pesticide runoff that can also threaten animal species. Many of the cut flowers are grown in South America, where farms contin-ue to use pesticides that are restricted in the U.S. and cited as highly toxic by the World Health Organization. GreenAmerica.org provides several helpful tips on bringing joy to mom on her special day in eco-friendly ways: Grow Your Own. Buy organic bulbs or seeds in consumer seed catalogs and retail racks or online from reputable sources that include SeedsOfChange.com. Children can then grow their own flowers to make them mean even more. Tips for natural weed and pest control, environmentally friendly watering, making raised garden beds and more are posted at EarthEasy.com/yard-garden. Buy Local and Organic. Support local communities and save shipping costs and energy by purchasing chemical-free organic flowers from a local farmers’ market or community supported agriculture. Online retailers like OrganicBouquet.com and LocalHarvest.org/organic-flowers.jsp offer U.S. Department of Agriculture-certified organic flowers. Ask Local Florists to Go Organic. Find out if local florists purchase any organic and local flowers, and if not, request that they do so. Also, eschew plastic wraps and vases for eco-friendly flowers to avoid toxic ingredients and the carbon manufacturing footprint. Fun options to hold and showcase the gift include old, recycled Mason and glass jars and bottles or an artistic vase from an estate sale or antique or thrift shop.

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Eden Retreat and Spa is minutes away from busy Walton County beaches, yet remains in a rural setting, secluded among the oaks and bamboo. The layout of the grounds is striking; a juxtaposition of modern architecture and serene, natural foliage. The result-ing environment is a sanctuary for those seeking a variety of spa services, holis-tic therapies, yoga and yoga retreats, as well as educational workshops relating to physical and emotional health. Owner Dr. Eric Scheufler, a Miramar Beach oral and maxillofacial surgeon, opened East of Eden in August 2014.

Originally serving as a peaceful place for him to escape the bustle and noise of the outside world, East of Eden today is a holistic haven designed to help people find their own inner peace and balance. The spa’s motto, “Find your path to Eden,” befits the

cloistered nature of the spa, inspired by a “lifelong quest for serenity and rejuvena-tion in the midst of hectic 21st-century life,” according to Scheufler. The East of Eden staff includes a range of holistic health care providers, including licensed massage therapists, acupuncture physicians, naturopaths, estheticians, yoga instructors and hair

businessspotlight

stylists, all operating under the supervi-sion of a medical doctor. Spa programs at East of Eden are customizable from a several hours to several days, and the day begins with a morning yoga class, followed by a freshly prepared green juice or almond milk smoothie delivered from the Raw and Juicy kitchen. A visit to the compli-mentary sauna warms muscles before a 60- or 90-minute massage session. Afterward, guests are guided to a wet steam room for cromotherapy (colo-rology) and a facial or other healing treatment such as acupuncture or a naturopathic consultation. East of Eden also features a saltwater pool with an adjoining hot tub, both warmed by solar power. Lunch options include a healthy menu and private sushi dinner parties are available with advance notice. Manager Eve Blair explains that the spa can comfortably accommodate groups of up to 10 people. “We have four treatment rooms where services can be provided, while our lounge area can fit about another six people,” she says. “The spa offers a variety of con-temporary residencies for couples, families or groups that seek an ex-tended stay within a paradisal haven unlike other commercial resorts.” Upcoming events at East of Eden include an Active Recovery workshop. with Dylan Churchwell, Eden Energy Medicine 101, with Tanni Hall, Uncom-mon Faith, with Felicia McQuaid, and Conscious Connected Breathing, with Jack Fontana, on May 16.

East of Eden Retreat and Spa is located at 234 Dog Hobble Ln., in Santa Rosa Beach. For more information or to make a reservation, call 850-797-4754, email [email protected] or visit EastOfEdenRetreatAndSpa.com.

Find Your Path to Paradise

at East of Eden Retreat and Spa

by Kyla Stevens

The spa’s motto, “Find your path to Eden,” befits the cloistered nature of the

spa, inspired by a “lifelong quest for serenity and

rejuvenation in the midst of hectic 21st-century life,”

according to Scheufler.


Peter Kozlowski, M.D., is the owner of Emer-

ald Coast Functional Medicine, in Fort Walton Beach. He is board certified in family medicine and has completed the coursework of the Institute of Func-tional Medicine, completing that board certification this spring. That achievement ranks Kozlowski among the first physicians worldwide to receive the accreditation. He states, “The whole-body approach I take was inspired by a few of my idols and pioneers in medicine. During resi-dency, I trained at the Chopra Center, in Carlsbad, California, which was founded by Deepak Chopra, M.D., and David Simon, M.D. While there, I had the privilege of working with patients from around the world as part of the medical consult team specializing in ayurvedic and functional medicine.” Kozlowski also gained inspiration from Dr. Susan Blum, author of The Immune System Recovery Plan and founder of the Blum Center for Health, in Ryebrook, New York. “I also trained at the Ultra Wellness Center, in Lenox, Massachusetts, the Ultra Wellness Center, founded by Dr. Mark Hyman, director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine and chairman of the board of the Institute of Func-tional Medicine, at the forefront of a

transformation in healthcare. I hope to carry these experi-ences and my training to the Emerald Coast,” he states. Recruited by the Fort Walton Beach Medical Center from Chicago, where he fin-ished his resi-dency at St. Mary & Elizabeth’s Family Medicine Program, which is dedicated to family-centered and community-oriented care,

this is Kozlowski’s first year of operat-ing. “It is currently just my fiancé and I. Lauren operates as my office manager, nutritionist and patient liaison,” he says. “We both come from very close-knit families, so we understand the importance of family to health. Chronic disease is largely a lifestyle disease which takes the whole family to heal.” He speaks English, Spanish and Polish. “I think the major guiding principle that we try to carry from our per-sonal lives to our business is the law of karma,” says Kozlowski. “This is some-thing that I learned from working at the Chopra center. By bringing happiness and success to others, we have found the same in return. What are the conse-quences of the choice I’m making? Will it bring it happiness? Your body should send messages of comfort. I encourage my patients to bring choices into con-

World-Class Functional Medicine

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communityspotlight

by Martin Miron


scious awareness. Imaginary obstacles are 90 percent of perceived obstacles, and when we practice present moment-by-moment awareness, they disappear.” The doctor favors community edu-cation and giving a voice back to the patient, saying, “Too many patients get passed from one physician to the next and are told everything is normal and that nothing is wrong, when they know their body does not feel right.” Kozlowski’s goal is to bring the forefront of medicine to this area. “There are so many forward-thinking people in this community, and it is a joy to share in their excitement when they hear they have a physician who will work with them,” he voices. “We believe in practicing good medicine and being honest, and allowing the rest of the pieces to fall into place. By taking the time to listen to our patients stories, we have helped people get better who did not think they had any alternatives.” Kozlowski wants to create more programs for community members to connect and join together, because he knows that there is nothing more important to healing than connec-tion. “My inspiration and vision for our center has come from working at some of the most successful integra-tive medicine clinics in the world,” says Kozlowski. “The goal is to create a center where the community can come for whole health.”

Emerald Coast Functional Medicine is lo-cated at 2010 Lewis Turner Blvd., in FWB. For more information, call 850-830-7517 or visit DocKoz.com. See ad, page 27.

I think the major guiding principle that we try to carry from our personal

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Local yoga instructor Amy Likins recently participated in a yoga seminar in Cuba, where she and

her group sought to bridge the gap be-tween yoga and Cuban culture. Spon-sored by Vaya Sojourns and Altruvistas, this holistic care and cultural exchange is part of an educational venture that is seeking to make training and certi-fication for yoga instructors in Cuba economically available and acceptable by Cuban healthcare standards. This seminar and others like it mark a his-torical cultural exchange between the Cuban people and the Americans that participated in the seminar.

How did you discover this program?I was led by a teacher I’ve been work-ing and training with for the last five to seven years, Mary Paffard. She’s been involved in the Cuban yoga com-munity for the last 13 years through a group called Lyri-CA, the Latino Yoga Research Institute of California and the Americas. I’ve really admired her and I was invited to attend the yoga retreat and cultural exchange.

What were some of the group’s opportunities and goals during the exchange? On this particular trip, our goal was to help make yoga more acceptable in Cuban culture, exploring how yoga would fit into the Cuban healthcare system. We had the opportunity to go

to clinics and meet with doctors who began to integrate yoga as part of their therapies to rehabilitate some diseases. In Cuba, yoga certification is highly regulated, requiring that you must have a previous medical background. This is because every modality under Cuban healthcare must be scientifi-cally accepted and proven. Yoga certification and training has been a challenge so far for the Cuban Yogis, partly due to restrictions placed on who can teach, based on having a background in the medical field or a degree in physical education. It is very important for there to be studies and hard evidence of the practices having certain benefits. There are also very limited resources as far as yoga train-ing and materials such as books, yoga props and space for classes to be held, which is what makes the group’s work so important. Our goal was to bring some training to the teachers who have started teaching over there and give them access to resources and informa-tion that hasn’t been available.

Who was included in the exchange? This was an international group, several people were from the UK, a women from Mexico, a farmer from California, a few from Spain; really quite a diverse group of people. Some people were in the healthcare profession, but we also had some younger political activists that came with us.

What obstacles or challenges did you face? One of the problems we encountered was a limited access to healthy food. There is a movement trying to create a resurgence of growing vegetables in Cuba—most people can’t afford the veg-etables when a head of lettuce costs $2 and a family lives on $20 a month. Our group helped to participate in providing information on nutrition for the Cubans.

How does inclusion of yoga practice work within the Cuban healthcare system? Their healthcare system is very different than America’s. They have a primary, secondary and tertiary care system. Their primary care is dependent upon preven-tion: acupuncture, nutritional therapy, electromagnetic therapy, aromatherapy; helping the population prevent disease in the first place. This is due to the fact that the medicine is very expensive. Doctors don’t typically prescribe medi-cation because it’s so hard to come by, due to the embargo. The secondary care concerns hospitals, where a patient is referred by a primary care physician to the hospital after a diagnosis has been made. The tertiary system contains all of the specialists—oncology, cardiology, gynecology, etc. All three of these tiers are free to Cubans. In a community, however, there may be 31 family doctors, and they would share about 37,000 patients. This makes their healthcare system a huge team ef-fort between local doctors and specialists and requires a large amount of integra-tion between the fields. Yoga, once thought of as only an exercise or spiritual practice, has become free to Cubans based on the scientific findings and data recently produced by Maria Gonzalez, a woman who was on Castro’s cabinet for many years, and her colleagues.

Bridging the GapAmy Likins Rediscovers Her Reason

for Teaching Yoga While in Cuba

by Kyla Stevens

This seminar and others like it mark a historical

cultural exchange between the Cuban people and the

Americans that participated in the seminar.


Did you observe yoga first-hand working within their healthcare system?We got to visit one clinic called, Ataxia Clinic, a neurotherapy clinic. Many Cu-bans have a genetic defect that attacks people’s nervous systems which affects their ability to concentrate, induces muscle cramps and causes problems with speech, much like Parkinson’s or other nervous system disorders. These patients received two hours of yoga therapy every day. We actually got a chance to meet with many of these yoga patients and ask about their experience. The patients reported an increased ability to see obstacles in their path, handle stairs, better quality sleep, increased balance and were able to achieve an increase in focus. Some of these patients had been bed-ridden or unable to function in their daily life. It was pretty awesome to see how the doctors were implementing simple yoga poses and techniques that the students and patients were able to take home and repeat every day that had long-term positive effects on their health.

What was the largest impact of the experience for you personally? Over the last 13 years, these teachers have accumulated a huge yoga com-munity—we were in two areas; Hol-guin and Havana. The first night, I was expecting maybe 15, 20, students to come to class—when we got there, they had arranged it to be an outdoor area and 150 Cubans arrived! None of them had yoga mats, no yoga clothes, most practicing on cardboard or towels. The class was completely in Spanish and in almost total darkness. In our American yoga practices, we become so concerned with our props, our mat, our incense —all the materials we use to make the practice perfect. In Cuba, I found it amazing how simple they’ve kept the yoga, and as a teacher, it reminded me about why I teach yoga in the first place. It’s about connecting with people, helping people become in tune with their own needs, with their bodies and their minds. We’re really seeing that in Cuba, where we have all generations practicing yoga together, a 10-year-old next to a couple in their 80s. Cuban cul-

ture is very family-oriented, with whole families living under the same roof, shar-ing businesses and childcare, building family-based communities.

What are the upcoming plans of groups like yours? We are hoping that next spring, there will be a training program to become certified through the Yoga Alliance. This is really important in order for Cuban yoga instructors to receive recognition by the government; they

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F U N C T I O N A L M E D I C I N E(func·tion·al med·i·cine) noun

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really need to have these types of certification to show the authenticity to the work that they are doing to be held in a high regard and taken seriously by the medical community and the healthcare system.

For more information, visit Lyri-Ca.org or contact Amy Likins at AmyAllOneYoga [email protected].

Kyla Stevens is a staff writer for NWF Natural Awakenings magazine.


We’ve been conditioned to nar-rowly define breast health in terms of pink ribbon cam-

paigns, cancer awareness marches and cold, steel mammography machines. Nearly 30 years after anticancer drug maker Imperial Chemical Industries (now AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals) estab-lished the first National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October 1985, many women have come to equate healthy breasts with cancer-free breasts, and assume the most important thing they can do is undergo regular screening. But amid this chorus, some women’s health advocates are striv-ing to get a different message across: There are a host of steps women can take to not only fend off disease in the future, but keep their breasts in optimal condition today. “We need to change the conversation about our breasts from how to avoid breast cancer and detect it early to how to have healthy breasts and enjoy them,” says Dr. Christiane Northrup, an obstetrician and gynecol-ogist from Yarmouth, Maine, and author of the new book Goddesses Never Age: The Secret Prescription for Radiance, Vitality, and Well-Being.

Healthy Breasts, Healthy BodyIn adolescence, breast changes are the first to signal the arrival of womanhood. When she’s aroused, a woman’s nipples harden and change color. When a woman gives birth, her breasts fill with life-giving milk. “In all these ways, your breasts are deeply connected to your femininity, compassion and sensuality,” says Hawaiian Naturopathic Doctor

Laurie Steelsmith, co-author of Natural Choices for Women’s Health. Because breasts are extremely sensitive to hor-monal fluctuations throughout the body, they can also serve as a barometer of overall health. “If you’re having chronic breast symptoms, it can be your body’s wisdom saying, ‘Help. Something’s wrong.’ Women need to listen.” While some premenstrual swelling and tenderness is normal, exaggerated or persistent pain is often a sign of sys-temic estrogen dominance in relation to progesterone. It’s common in the years leading up to menopause, but can also hint at impaired thyroid function, because low levels of thyroid hormones have been shown to boost estrogen in breast tissue, advises Steelsmith. Large, fluid-filled cysts or fibrous lumps, while non-cancerous, can also be a reflection of overexposure to harm-ful chemicals and toxin buildup, com-bined with poor lymph flow, notes Dr. Elizabeth Vaughan, an integrative physi-cian in Greensboro, North Carolina. “If a woman has lumpy, bumpy breasts, they probably contain too many toxins, and those toxins are primarily estrogenic.” Addressing such symptoms is important not only to relieve discom-fort, but

also because excess estrogen can fuel future cancer risk, says Vaughan. Any new, suspicious lump should be evaluated by a professional. Also, severe breast tenderness combined with nipple discharge could be a sign of infection or a problem with the pituitary gland, so it should also be checked. But typically, subtle natural healthcare steps can go a long way toward restoring breast wellness. For nipple tenderness, Steelsmith recommends chaste-tree berry (175 milligrams [mg] of powdered extract or 40 drops daily). The herbal supplement mimics naturally occurring progester-one in the body, helping to counter estrogen dominance. Vitamin E (400 to 800 international units [IU] per day) and evening primrose oil (1,500 mg twice a day) have also been shown to alleviate breast tenderness. For fibrous or cyst-filled breasts, Vaughan advises supplementing with iodine (up to 12.5 mg per day via kelp, seaweed or oral tablets) or applying an iodine solution to the breasts at night. A key constituent of thyroid hormones, iodine helps the liver con-vert unfriendly forms of estrogen into friend-lier forms and flush toxins out of lymph nodes in the breast. Also, steer clear of chocolate and coffee, because caffeine is

RETHINKING BREAST HEALTHNatural ways to keep breasts smooth, pain-free

and firm, while reducing the risk of cancer.

by Lisa Marshall


believed to interact with enzymes in the breast, exaggerating pain and lumpiness. Also consider ditching the bra, says Vaughan. Brassieres can constrict lymph nodes and hinder blood circula-tion in breasts, locking toxins in and ag-gravating fibrocystic symptoms. The link between bras and breast cancer risk remains hotly debated, with one 2014 U.S. National Cancer Institute study of 1,400 women concluding unequivo-cally that, “There’s no evidence that wearing a bra increases a woman’s risk of breast cancer,” while smaller studies from the United States, China, Venezu-ela, Scotland and Africa suggest a link. Vaughan, the founder of BraFree.org, says the science is compelling enough that she has chosen to keep her own bra use to a minimum and advises her patients to do the same. “Obviously, there are certain sports where you should wear a sports bra and there are certain dresses that only look right with a bra,” says Vaughan. At a minimum, avoid wearing a bra to bed and steer clear of underwires and overly tight bras that leave red marks. “This is not about guilt-tripping women into never wearing a bra. It’s about wearing a bra less.”

Beautiful Breasts NaturallyToo small or too big, lopsided or riddled with stretch marks… it seems almost every woman has a complaint about the appearance of her breasts.

That’s a problem, says Northrup, because, “Healthy breasts are breasts that are loved. We have to stop beating them up.” According to the American So-ciety of Plastic Surgeons, the number of women getting breast implants for cosmetic reasons ballooned from 212,500 in 2000 to 286,254 in 2014. Physicians—including Northrup—claim that modern implants don’t, in the majority of cases, promote disease like older silicone implants did. Yet even plastic surgeons warn that having implants should be fully thought out, and at some point they’ll probably have to come out. “They are manmade devices, and are not intended to be lifelong. At some point, you will prob-ably have to have further surgery,” says Dr. Anureet Bajaj, an Oklahoma City plastic surgeon. Bajaj notes that implants can rupture, forming scar tissue and lending irregular shape to the breast. Often, as a woman ages and her body changes, the larger breasts she chose in her 20s no longer look right and may cause back and shoulder pain. In some cases, implants can also lead to loss of nipple sensitivity. For these and other reasons, 23,774 women—including actress Melissa Gilbert and model Victoria Beckham—had their implants removed in 2014, often following up with a breast lift (using their own tissue) to restore their shape.

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Vaughan sees breast implant re-moval as a wise and courageous choice to restore optimal breast health. Better yet, don’t get implants in the first place. “There are a lot of other things you can do to improve the appearance of your breasts,” she advises. Vaughan recommends breast-perking exercises like dumbbell bench presses and flys that tone the pectoral muscles beneath the breasts, making them more resilient and look larger. To prevent or reverse sagging, she again urges women to go bra-free. “We have ligaments in the upper outer quad-rant of our breasts called Cooper’s ligaments, and they’re responsible for holding our breasts up. Just like your muscles atrophy when you put your arm in a sling, your Cooper’s ligaments atrophy if you wear a bra all the time.” In one unpublished, yet highly publicized 2013 study, French Exer-cise Physiologist Jean-Denis Rouillon measured the busts of 330 women ages 18 to 35 over a period of 15 years and found those that regularly wore a bra had droopier breasts with lower nipples than those that didn’t. In another, smaller, Japanese study, researchers found that when women stopped wear-ing a bra for three months, their breasts perked up. Those worried about stretch marks also have options. They can be a sign of inadequate copper, which promotes collagen integrity and helps skin stretch without injury, says Steelsmith. If rapid weight gain is occurring due to adoles-cence, pregnancy or for other reasons, try taking copper supplements or apply-ing a topical copper spray on the breasts. Remember to massage your breasts daily, not only as a “search and destroy mission” for early detection of cancer-ous lumps, says Northrup, but as a way to get waste products flowing out and loving energy flowing in. “It concerns me that women feel pressured to think of their breasts as two potentially pre-malignant lesions sitting on their chests,” Northrup says. “These are organs of nourishment and pleasure for both ourselves and others. We need to remember that, too.”

Lisa Marshall is a freelance health writer in Boulder, CO. Connect at LisaAnnMarshall.com.

According to the American Cancer Society, one in eight women will be

diagnosed with breast cancer, and nearly 40,000 will die annually of the disease. But at least 38 percent of those diag-noses could be prevented via diet and lifestyle changes, affirms the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR). “For decades, the dominant public message about breast cancer has been about early detection,” says Medical Doctor Robert Pendergrast, an associ-ate professor at the Medical College of Georgia, in Augusta, and author of Breast Cancer: Reduce Your Risk with Foods You Love. “Screening is important, but not nearly enough attention is being paid to prevention.” Here’s what we can do to keep cancer at bay or from recurring. Eat more veggies: Cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts, are loaded with indole-3-carbinol, or I3C, a potent anticancer compound that helps break down excess estrogen and convert it into a more friendly, or benign form, says Steelsmith. One study in Alterna-tive Medicine Review found that wom-en that ate high amounts of cruciferous vegetables were 30 percent less likely to develop breast cancer over 30 years. I3C can also be taken as a supplement (300 milligrams [mg] per day). Eat more fiber, especially flax: Fiber, via whole grains, fruits and veg-etables, helps flush out toxins includ-ing unfriendly estrogen. Flax contains cancer-fighting compounds called lig-nans, which block the effects of excess or unfriendly estrogen on cells. Drink less alcohol: Alcohol boosts estrogen levels in women and is broken down in the liver to acetaldehyde, a known toxin that causes cancer in laboratory animals, notes Naturopath

Bust Musts for Cancer Preventionby Lisa Marshall

Laurie Steelsmith. According to the AICR, a woman that has five drinks per week boosts her risk by 5 percent. Two or more drinks per day boosts such risk by more than 40 percent. Skip the barbecue: Charring meat produces carcinogenic compounds called heterocyclic amines. A study of 42,000 women, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, found that those that routinely ate well-done hamburger, beef or bacon had four times the risk of those that opted for medium or medium-rare. Keep weight in check: Excessive estrogen, which lives in fat cells, fuels cancer risk. According to the AICR, a woman with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 (obese) has a 13 percent higher risk of cancer than a woman with a BMI of 25 (slightly overweight). Spice up life: Curcumin from the turmeric plant has been shown in many studies to have potent immune-boosting and anticancer properties, reactivating sleeping tumor-suppressor genes that can kill cancer cells. De-stress: Growing evidence that includes studies from Ohio State Univer-sity suggest that stress can boost the risk of breast cancer and recurrence, plus heighten its aggressiveness by altering hormones and impairing immunity. One study from Finland’s University of Helsinki followed 10,808 Finnish wom-en for 15 years and found as much as double the rate of breast cancer among those that had experienced a divorce or death of a spouse or family member. Drink green tea: It’s loaded with epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a potent antioxidant believed to suppress new blood vessel growth in tumors and keep cancerous cells from invading healthy tissue.


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Laurie Beck, author of the memoir, I am Living

to Tell, proudly proclaims, “Sometimes you have to invent your own miracle!” Beck was 42 when she started feeling tired. “I felt so bone weary, knocked-out tired that I couldn't do anything. That wasn't right. I keep myself in great physical condition. When I finally got the courage to go to an inter-nist, I got the news. It was way worse than I could even imagine.” Diagnosed with an incurable form of non-hodgkins lym-phoma, Beck recalls, “I was stunned into a mental paralysis. I am not a dra-ma queen. We've been told over and

over that we should make this day the best day of our lives. How does one make the day you found out that you were going to die be ‘the best’ day of your life?” Beck had spent a lifetime taking care of herself, but hadn’t realized how badly poisoned her body was or how much emotional baggage she had been carrying around. She notes, “My doctors tell me

I am a ‘one-percenter’, meaning about 1 percent of people with this form of cancer go into remission without some form of chemotherapy. For now, God

Hope is the Key to All Wellnessby Martin Miron

has graced me with a new life and I feel led to share some of my healing medicine and give these eight lessons of hope and healing.

� Awaken: Learn to stop and be quiet. � Hope: Express that which you desire

and believe it has already happened. � Serenity: The body is calmed with

every breath. � Healing: Forgive. � Positivity: Shift your stinking thinking. � Passion: Express self-affirmation. � Courage: Be scared but press on. � Humor: Be the fun you seek.

“Healing is a journey, and the body cannot heal until we are at peace in our mind, body and soul,” explains Beck. “There is a saying by the Tibetan Dalia Lama: ‘Tragedy should be utilized as a source of strength. No matter how painful the experience is, if we lose our hope that's our real disaster.’”

Laurie Beck is the owner of Pilates By The Sea. For more information, visit LaurieBeck.com.

Laurie Beck


consciouseating

We read the labels touting low sugar, carbs, fats and calories. We try this and

that diet, hoping the pounds will melt away. Yet more than a third of U.S. adults, nearly 80 million of us, remain overweight or obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in Atlanta. The problem might be that we’re getting the wrong advice. While most weight-loss plans focus on reducing calories, recent research shows that vegan and vegetarian dietary patterns can result in more weight loss than those that include meat, without even emphasizing caloric restriction. Scien-tists at the University of South Carolina, in Columbia, point to their study, How Plant-Based Do We Need to Be to Achieve Weight Loss? Study participants were divided into five groups, according to eating style, from vegan to flexitarian to carni-vore, and monitored for an eight-week period. At the end of the evaluation, those that followed an entirely plant-based diet achieved the greatest weight loss. Study leader Gabrielle Turner-McGrievy, Ph.D., notes, “Many researchers agree that vegan eating styles are tied to lower BMI [body mass index], lower prevalence of Type 2 dia-betes and less weight gain with age.” Can it really be that simple… eat more plants and lose weight? “Yes,” says clean food coach Jeannette Bessinger, of Newport, Rhode Island. “Most people could benefit from eating more veg-etables.” Co-author of Natural Solutions

for Digestive Health with Naturopath Jillian Sarno Teta, Bessinger advises her clients to start by eating more green, leafy vegetables. Vegetables contribute to weight control in several ways, says Bessinger. They fill us up and help calm cravings. Plus, when plants become the bulk of what we eat, we naturally consume fewer high-fat, high-calorie foods. For an easy appetite-control strat-egy, Bessinger suggests having a cup of vegetable soup about 10 minutes before a meal. “It shuts off your appetite valve and you’ll eat noticeably less,” she says, while still feeling full. She also recom-mends slowing down and being mind-ful when we eat. Vegetables help us do that. “It takes two-and-a-half minutes to eat a piece of cheesecake, but much more time to eat a big salad,” she says. For New York City-based Victoria Moran, author of Main Street Vegan and The Good Karma Diet, losing weight and maintaining a healthy lifestyle be-came easier once she adopted a vegan diet. “I’ve been through life and loss and ages 40 and 50, and my weight

stays steady, some 60 pounds less than it once was,” she says. “Every year when I put away my winter clothes and get out my summer clothes, they fit.” Her eating strategy is easy, too. “Make your plate look like a Christ-mas tree,” says Moran, “mostly green

with splashes of other bright colors from vegetables and fruits.” She eats

green veggies in several ways. She makes her own green juices—one favorite combines celery, kale, apple and lemon juice. She also adds tender greens like romaine

or spinach to smoothies that might also contain fruit and citrus juice. She steams greens with plenty of garlic and makes big salads. “I bought my salad bowl at a restaurant supply house,” Moran exclaims. Salads get an oomph factor with a selection of avocado, pump-kin or hemp seeds, mushrooms, chickpeas or red beans, artichoke

hearts, chunks of steamed yam and sautéed tofu or tempeh. Moran cites benefits of more energy to do more physical activity and “feeling really good” as additional outcomes of her dietary shift. Sophie Uliano, a Los Angeles-based natural beauty expert and author of the new Gorgeous for Good, agrees, believing that eating a vegan diet 80 percent of the time can pay dividends in weight loss, well-being, energy and beauty. “Most of the time, eat clean and healthy,” she recommends. “It’s not a diet. It’s a ‘live-it’, a way of life.” Uliano recently asked two col-leagues on the Hallmark Channel’s Home & Family show to try eating vegan, while also eliminating gluten, alcohol, caffeine and refined grains. The pair lost weight, gained energy and improved their skin tone. “Transformation comes in a series of small, consistent decisions over time,” concludes Bessinger, eating salad instead of cheeseburgers and vegetables instead of fries. For natural weight management, “Make strategic, long-term changes in stages that you can actually sustain over time.”

Judith Fertig blogs at AlfrescoFood AndLifestyle.blogspot.com from Overland Park, KS.

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Laura Prepon’s Journey to HealthHome Cooking, Organics

and Massage Are Keyby Gerry Strauss

From That ‘70s Show to Orange is the New Black,

actress Laura Prepon has long been considered by TV audiences to be a welcome image of health. Yet Prepon’s recent discovery that she’d been falling short in nourishing her body as effec-tively as possible has set in motion a complete redirec-tion of lifestyle, from her diet to fitness routine. Now working on a book about clean living and eating due out next year, Prepon has rededicated herself to educating us just as much as she’s entertained us through the years. How do you manage to consistently eat local organic food instead of fast food?My mother was a gourmet chef and an advocate of organic food, so we always had amazing meals growing up. Eating organic produce that’s in season locally seems to help me assimilate nutrition more readily. Whenever I can, I also try to tap into biodynamic agriculture, which takes an even broader holistic approach to food production and nutri-tion. I view GMOs [genetically modi-fied foods] as toxic to the system. As a self-taught chef, I like to cook at least 80 percent of my food at home

and bring meals to work so I don’t stress about food during the day. It feels good to get people together in the kitchen and I’ve taught friends how to cook healthy foods in simple ways, so they now bring their own meals with them to work. It’s all about preparation, so that you’re not just grab-

bing something on the run. Knowing what’s going into the food we’re eating is important.

Why do you include a lot of soup in your diet?With all of the GMO food sprayed with chemicals in the typical American diet and the other environmental toxins everyone has to deal with, our gut flora, intestines and bodies in general are becoming compromised. Ten years ago, few had even heard of gluten allergies unless you had celiac disease, which was rare even then. Now, everywhere you go, there’s a gluten-free option. I love eating soup because the healthful ingredients I use are broken down completely, so the body can immediately assimilate needed micro-nutrients, which help heal us from the inside out. I’m talking about home-made broth from grass-fed beef bones,

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so you get the marrow; I’m partial to knuckle bones. I always have soup broth in my refrigerator.

What’s key to your ability to naturally stay healthy and fit in the midst of an intense schedule of work and travel?I love modalities like acupuncture, massage … all of that. I fully believe in keeping energy flowing to benefit the functioning of all our organs. As school kids, we learn about the circulatory system and central nervous system, but who knows much about the lymphatic system? It’s extremely important, and people are starting to get the idea. Activities like yoga, swim-ming and bouncing on the trampoline can help.

Do you see society’s penchant for medicating as a way to avoid listening to and address-ing our body’s real needs?I do. That’s why I study Eastern medicine, because I feel that Western medicine treats problems and Eastern medicine prevents problems from happening. I grew up in a family of doctors and “full-on” Western medicine and respect the medical community. Unfortunately, these days, most people are continually medicated and they’re not getting better. As a society, we tend to just take a drug to handle a symptom instead of address-ing the actual cause of the problem.

As a celebrity, do you see yourself as a conduit to facilitate a shift away from unnatural lifestyles?Yes. The reason I decided to write a book was because I’ve been struggling with a bunch of different ailments in secret for a long time. When I began working with my integrated health coach, Elizabeth Troy, I started to heal for the first time in all the years of read-ing books on health, diet and fitness, seeing doctors, taking loads of pills and spending crazy amounts of money on all of these activities. I want to help people struggling to regain their health to get answers.

Gerry Strauss is a freelance writer in Hamilton, NJ. Connect at [email protected].

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With pets, as with kids, vac-cine safety and necessity are likely concerns. While holis-

tic veterinarians tend to minimize the use of vaccines, their strongest stance is against unnecessary vaccinations. The point is to immunize only when it’s needed by individual patients while maximizing natural immunity. In the late 1970s, amid the discov-ery of the canine parvo virus, vets saw many puppies under 4 months of age suffer from this mysterious disease and die or be euthanized. Once a vaccine was made, we rarely saw pets dying from the parvo virus or parvoviral infec-tion. So, in certain cases, vaccines can be life-saving. However, unnecessary and mul-tiple simultaneous vaccines can also be life-taking, which doctors rarely men-tion. The truth is that only minimal vac-

cines are needed for dogs

PET VACCINE ALTERNATIVES

Natural Steps to Nurture Immunityby Shawn Messonnier

and cats over the course of a pet’s life. No pet needs all of the vaccines that are currently manufactured, and none needs vaccines every six to 12 months. Pets do need veterinary checkups once or twice a year to screen for dis-eases affecting the liver, heart, kidneys, lungs and gastrointestinal and urinary systems, as well as cancer. Blood and urine testing, including blood testing for undiagnosed cancer, is vital, easy and inexpensive (every six months for pets 5 years and older and annually for those that are younger). A good protocol is akin to that de-veloped by Dr. Jean Dodds, founder of Hemopet, of Garden Grove, California, a holistic veterinarian and an expert in animal vaccination and immunol-ogy. Her system involves administering limited vaccines to puppies and kittens based on their individual needs, and not more often than every three weeks for those younger than 8 weeks. Fol-lowing this course, by 4 months of age the pet has been injected with four to six vaccines, compared to double to triple the amount supported by vaccine

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Such a judicious, limited vac-cine protocol offers protection against the diseases that are the most lethal to the puppy or kitten while doing no harm to its natural immune system. As needed, individual pets may also receive a natural detoxification pro-tocol to minimize vaccine reactions. Antioxidant supplements can boost the immune response, as well. Adult pet patients can also be given blood titer testing instead of vaccines. This measures the animal’s individual antibody responses to prior immuniza-tions or common disease exposure and assures us the pet has adequate immu-nity against a specific disease. All of this assures the pet owner that the pet is protected against infec-tious diseases without the risks of annual multiple vaccinations. In most cases a protective titer is maintained for many years, which preempts dis-ease and further reduces the number of vaccines the animal receives over its lifetime. Titer testing costs less than $100 for three common infectious diseases, is safer than routine immunization, protects the immune system, prevents vaccine reactions and assures owners, vets, boarding facilities, groomers and day care facilities that it’s safe to intro-duce the pet into such environments. This approach of minimal vaccina-tions is a prime reason holistic veteri-narian patients tend to be healthier and live longer than the average pet, with even larger dogs regularly living in good health up to 15 to 20 years of age. Holistic veterinarians perform limited vaccines supplemented by titer testing to ensure levels of care that meet accepted standards. They base their approach on supportive science from institutions including the American Ani-mal Hospital Association and American Association of Feline Practitioners to provide safe, proven, ongoing immunity for patients.

Shawn Messonnier, a doctor of vet-erinary medicine practicing in Plano, TX, is the award-winning author of The Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats and Unexpected Miracles: Hope and Holistic Healing for Pets. For more in-formation, visit PetCareNaturally.com.

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Labor and delivery is a natural process that can be enjoyed.

“It’s not something to be afraid of,” says Mel Campbell, author of The Yoga of Pregnancy. “It’s a wonderful and beautiful experience. We need to remember that the body is designed for giving birth.” Natural childbirth uses few or no artificial medical inter-ventions such as drugs, continuous fetal monitoring, forceps delivery or episi-otomies (cuts to enlarge the vaginal opening). According to the U.S. Cen-ters for Disease Control (CDC), 32.7 percent of deliveries were by Cesarean section in 2013—most performed in situations where a vaginal birth would have posed a relatively low risk to the health of mother and child. Entirely natural childbirth is now rare here compared with other countries, but that wasn’t always the case. In 1900, 95 percent of all U.S. births took place in the home; when more moved to hospitals here in the early 20th century, midwives still typically handled the delivery in other countries, sometimes without a doctor present. In America, obstetrics became a profession and a doctor-attended birth in a hospital was promoted as a safer

healingways

alternative. By 1938, half of domestic births took place in hospitals, and by 1960 it rose to 97 percent. Currently, midwives attend less than 8 percent of births here, and fewer than 1 percent occur outside a hospital. Natural labor and delivery in a hospital is possible, but, “It’s hard

to have an unmedicated birth in many hospitals if you don’t know your rights, understand your physiology and have a doula by your side helping you avoid unnecessary interventions,” says Ina May Gaskin, a pioneering midwife and author of Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth. Key factors to discuss include fetal monitoring, intravenous tubes and the option to eat or drink during labor.

Benefits of Home BirthsWomen choose home births and homey birthing centers because they labor there more comfortably, feel more in control of the process and can more easily avoid interventions. Many moms seek out a midwife’s services because they don’t want to repeat the conven-tional hospital experience that accom-panied their first baby’s arrival. When actress Ricki Lake gave birth to her second child in her home

bathtub with the assistance of a mid-wife, she felt empowered by doing it on her own terms. “Giving birth wasn’t an illness, something that needed to be numbed. It was something to be experi-enced,” she says. When women let their bodies naturally lead, labor can last as little as 20 minutes or as long as two weeks, and the spectrum of pain intensity is equally broad. A healthy prenatal lifestyle that prepares a mom-to-be for a natural physical, emotional and spiritual experience of childbirth is highly beneficial.

Compassionate Self-Care“Pregnancy’s not the time to overex-ert yourself; let go of the temptation to overachieve and instead practice breathing and mindfulness,” advises Campbell. “If you’re experiencing morning sickness, try to embrace it and how it serves you. By doing so, you’ll be more in tune with your body. These lessons are gifts you can take with you into labor.” She reminds women that the baby is always getting nourishment from all that mom eats and breathes in, and also feeds off of her feelings and emotions. “The more we can feel at peace with our-selves and incorporate the baby into our being, the more we feel a connection and union,” she says. “It’s vital that you let your body’s innate wisdom be your guide and respect any cues it may give.” Campbell guides expectant mothers through a yoga practice that embraces the changes occurring each trimester. For example, a more physical practice in the second trimester utilizes the surge of energy to build stamina

Giving Birth Naturally

Conscious Choices Lead to Less Intervention

by Meredith Montgomery

Most births should be viewed as a natural life process instead of a potential

medical emergency.

~Abby Epstein, The Business of Being Born

There is a great deal of fear and ignorance about allowing labor and birth

to proceed without disturbance. Rates of

routine intervention are so high, most nurses and

physicians rarely see a fully natural birth.

~Ina May Gaskin


and strength, while opening the heart, hips and pelvis. Complementary relaxation tech-niques for labor include breathing practices, visualization, meditation and massage. When a mother isn’t con-nected to monitors and tubes, she’s free to experiment with positions and props such as balls, bars and pillows, plus a warm shower or bath. If a hospital birth is planned, Gaskin notes that labor often slows once a woman leaves the comfort of home, and recommends laboring at home as long as possible. There is no way to predict the course of labor and delivery when women let nature take the lead. Camp-bell, a mother of three, says, “I tried to focus on the intention of what I wanted for my birthing experience, while also surrendering expectations, knowing that I would have whatever type of birth I was supposed to have.” She adds, “The breath is the most important thing—it keeps us in the moment, helps us to relax and supports us through labor.” While the home birth option is im-portant to America’s new generation of trailblazing women, it’s also significant on a macro level. Gaskin explains, “It’s hard for staff to change routine prac-tices in hospitals but home births make innovation possible.” Home births demonstrated that women don’t require routine episiotomies and have shown how maternal mobility and position changes can help labor progress and free badly stuck babies (earlier methods often injured mother and child). Gaskin has found, “Wherever and however you decide to give birth, your experience will impact your emotions, mind, body and spirit for the rest of your life. No one should have a home birth who doesn’t want one, but it must be one of the choices.”

Meredith Montgomery publishes Natural Awakenings of Mobile/Baldwin, AL (HealthyLivingHealthyPlanet.com).

By 2006 Cesarean delivery was the number one surgical procedure in American hospitals.

~U.S. Centers for Disease Control

Determining the best birth setting for a mother necessitates sound planning.

If an unmedicated birth is a goal, these insights may help in making decisions. Home birth takes place in the com-fort of home, typically with the assistance of a midwife, and is suitable for a healthy woman with a low-risk pregnancy. She is able to wear her own clothing and eat as she pleases. Because monitoring of mother and baby is done intermittently, she is free to move around. Confirm the midwife’s training and experience; ask how many home births she’s attended and which obste-tricians she consults. Discuss the signs and symptoms that might necessitate a move to the hospital and how quickly it can be done. While a midwife’s fee is often far less than the cost of a hospi-tal birth, not all insurance companies cover home births. A birth center provides personal-ized, family-centered care in a home-like environment for healthy women. Practitioners follow principles of problem prevention, sensitivity, safety, appropriate medical intervention and cost-effectiveness. A midwife typically delivers the baby, but the collaborative practice team also includes obstetri-cians, pediatricians and other specialists.

Mothers experience personal freedoms similar to a home birth, and tubs for water births are usually available, plus other birthing props such as squatting bars, stools and balls. The center should be accredited by the Commission for Accreditation of Birth Centers. Inquire what the protocol for care will be if complications arise, learn what the center’s charges for care cover and confirm if the family’s insur-ance policy will pay for the services provided. A hospital generally has access to the latest medical technology, making it a preferred option for medium-to-high-risk pregnancies. With proper prepara-tions, an unmedicated birth is possible in this traditional setting. Investigate their rates of Cesarean births and episiotomies and the determining parameters. To allow for an active labor, request intermittent fetal monitoring, avoid intravenous fluids and ask about the availability of birthing props. Become familiar with hospital policies, such as who can be in the delivery room and whether the baby will stay with mom after the birth. If a nurse midwife is not on staff, consider hiring a doula to assist in preparing for and carrying out the family’s birth plan.

A Mother’s Guide to Natural Childbirth

by Meredith Montgomery


Women go through many pro-cesses in life, and giving birth is one that a woman’s bodies

is specifically designed to accomplish. It knows exactly how to prepare for conception and pregnancy, and when it is time, the labor and birth process. Many factors can influence when we go into labor, but the bottom line is that our hormones initiate the process. Here are some suggestions to make the most of this natural process.

Eat well before and during preg-nancy, keeping in mind the nutritional needs of the growing baby. The Brewer Diet (BlueRibbonBaby.com) recom-mends daily consumption of 2,200 cal-ories, 85 grams of protein and less than 30 percent of calorie intake from fat. Whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables and lean meats or complementary pro-teins (for vegans) are important to fulfill

Natural Birth is Bestwith Proper Preparation

by Vicki Taylor-Breheim

the needs of a growing baby, as well as prepare the mother’s body for the physi-cal demands of labor. A plate contain-ing a variety of textures and colors with serving sizes the size of a palm should do well. Avoid caffeine, obvious sugars and highly processed foods, and drink at least 32 ounces of water each day.

Keep physically active throughout the pregnancy. Walking and swimming are excellent for preparing the body for the endurance required for labor and birth. Prenatal yoga is wonderful for gentle stretching, practicing breathing and becoming aware of how the body moves. Sing and dance mother and baby will both benefit from the relaxation.

Attend a childbirth preparation class to learn about the physical pro-cess of birth and acquire physical and mental tools for relaxation.

Attend a La Leche League meet-ing to meet other moms that breast-feed their babies, learn about this vital process and see that the body has the ability to adequately provide complete nourishment for baby’s first year.

Assemble a birth team to fully support the birth plan, regardless of the location or details. This team might include a primary caregiver (midwife or obstetrician), partner and possibly a doula (midwife assistant).

Accept the element of surrender as a vital part of the birth process. Women that are prepared for the work involved, but also willing to go with the flow, generally do best in labor.

Consider using warm water for an aid to relaxation. A shower, warm bath or birth tub can help to stay calm and focused. This kind of relaxation has been proven to move the labor along with excellent outcomes for the baby.

Have smells and sounds around that promote relaxation. Birth is a journey in-ward, and the ability to relax is the key.

Do as much advance meal prepara-tion as possible. Make freezer meals or arrange for friends and relatives to bring meals daily in order to concentrate on the new baby’s needs and mother’s own healing. By allowing a “queen for a week” gift, will be off to a great start. As in any process, the end may not be what we envision. Labor is known to be full of twists and turns. Remain-ing flexible and confident in our goal of a healthy baby is important. If we are surrounded by a birth team that we trust in an environment that allows us to eat and drink at will, use the bathroom and move around, we will feel empowered by all of our choices.

Vicki Taylor-Breheim is a Florida li-censed midwife and certified profes-sional midwife who has been attending births since 1974. Her home birth business, Mama’s Cradle, is based in Pensacola, and she serves Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. For more information, visit MamasCradle.org.

Emerald Coast Birth ResourcesPregnant? Looking for resources and care options?

Visit Emerald Coast Birth Resources, a comprehensive directory of holistic care options for pregnancy, birth and

beyond, including doulas, midwives, lactation consultants, childbirth educators, plus products and services available

in the local Northwest Florida area.

www.EmeraldCoastResources.com


addressed at any time. Perhaps because ancient Chinese doctors were tasked with making sure the Emperor had an heir, gynecology and obstetrics has been a field of study in TCM for thousands of years. Chinese medicine has very definite ideas about what indicates reproductive health. If a woman has very difficult pe-riods, highly irregular cycles or scanty blood flow, she may indeed have more trouble getting pregnant. Fortunately, both acupuncture and herbal formulas can regulate those issues, and there is certainly no reason to wait. A TCM practitioner uses both acupuncture and herbs to regulate a woman’s or man’s qi, jing, yin and yang. Think of qi as life force energy, jing as genetics, yin as the feminine aspect of a person and yang as the male aspect. Both men and women have qi, jing, yin and yang. When these substances are out of balance, deficient or not circulat-ing correctly, infertility can result. TCM is all about balance, and so is the reproductive system. The yin phase of a women's cycle is the fol-licular phase. The yang portion is the luteal phase. The right number of days

Acupuncture Improves the Reproduction Processby Anaya Palay

Encouraging Couples’ Fertility

The female body is a bit like a beau-tiful pear tree. When it's growing and healthy it's capable of produc-

ing lots of fruit. But if there's not enough rain, or nutrients in the soil, it might not even be able to flower. Just like some women can't get or stay pregnant. Even young women can be infer-tile. One out of 20 women under age 24 can have issues, and by the time a woman reaches 40 years old, the num-ber skyrockets to one in four. There are actually two types of infertility. Women who have miscarried multiple times are also suffering from a type of infertility. About 1 percent of women experience this second type. In Western. medicine a couple is considered infertile if pregnancy hasn't occurred within a year of unprotected sex. This means that couples, even if they intuitively know something is amiss, end up waiting a full year before their concerns are taken seriously and treated. Unlike Western medicine, Tradi-tional Chinese Medicine (TCM) does not have a sharp cut-off for fertility ver-sus infertility. It teaches that a person’s intuition about his or her own body is valid. Concerns about fertility should be

between the cycle lets us know that both the luteal and follicular, (i.e., the yin and yang phases of the cycle are in sync). Ovulation is dependent on qi, yin and jing, and the right amount of mid-cycle discharge and temperature spike lets us know ovulation is occur-ring. Blood flow is dependent on qi and yang, and the right amount of blood flow tells us the endometrial lining is sufficient to support an embryo. These direct correspondences make Chinese medicine an excellent therapy for cor-recting menstrual and fertility issues. Habitual miscarriage is most com-monly due to issues with qi and jing. If a woman has this issue, as soon as she knows she is pregnant she should visit an acupuncturist for treatment. TCM is also an important add-on for couples already involved in ART (assisted reproductive technologies) like IVF (in-vitro fertilization) or AI (artificial insemination), etc. Multiple studies have demonstrated that using acupuncture in conjunction with ART can improve outcomes by as much as 40 percent. Considering how expen-sive and how emotionally draining ART—particularly IVF—can be, adding acupuncture to the treatment plan may help ensure that a couple only has to go through the process once. Male issues can play a part, too. Approximately 30 percent of fertility issues are actually due to the male part-ner. Sperm abnormalities can happen to anyone. Fortunately, acupuncture, herbs and diet changes can help, usu-ally within two months. For both men and women, acu-puncture is relaxing and reduces stress and anxiety, which are well known to impair fertility. Even before a woman is ready to start a family, it’s important to make sure the reproductive functions are working smoothly so there’s no time wasted when the right time comes.

Anaya Palay, a doctor of acupuncture and Oriental medicine, also provides prenatal and postnatal care. She practices at Calhoun Chiropractic, at Hwy. 79 and Back Beach Rd. For more information, call 850-230-1288 or email [email protected].


calendarofeventsAll calendar events must be received by the 15th of the month prior to publication.

Limited to approximately 50 words. See exact character count on website. Submit

from our website at NWFNaturally.com. $10 per regular listing. $50 Save the Date ad.

SATURDAY, MAY 2Psychic Festival – 9am-6pm. 3rd annual Psychic Festival featuring readers, healers, Aura photogra-phy and more. Free. Elements of Divine Wisdom, LLC., 80- C Beal Parkway NW., Fort Walton Beach. 850-217-5065. [email protected]. ElementsOfDivineWisdom.com

SUNDAY, MAY 3Endocrine System Healing with Alice Mc-Call – 3-4:30pm. The endocrine system regulates hormones that play vital roles in our wellbeing. Experience energy work to clear and open this part of you for physical, emotional, and spiritual benefits. Reservations required. Via teleconference. $20. 850-585-5496. [email protected]. HealingPath.info.

FRIDAY, MAY 8Faith in Yoga – 5-6:15pm. This all-level appropriate class will focus on gentle backbends to connect each individual to their wholeness. When you practice yoga a level of faith develops within yourself. $15. East of Eden Retreat and Spa, 234 Dog-Hobble Lane, Santa Rosa Beach. 850-217-2771. [email protected]. UnCommonFaithBook.com.

SATURDAY, MAY 9Uncommon Faith at East of Eden Retreat – 9am-5pm. Felicia McQuaid will be sharing insights from her new book: “Uncommon Faith: The journey from difficulty to divine purpose” at this day-long retreat that will include yoga, meditation, group and writing exercise to connect you to your divine purpose. $125 includes lunch. East of Eden Retreat and Spa 234 Dog-Hobble Lane, Santa Rosa Beach. 850-217-2771. [email protected]. UncommonFaithBook.com.

TUESDAY, MAY 12Guided Healing Meditation with Alice McCall – 6-7pm. Travel with the dolphins for an incred-ible healing experience that takes place while in a sacred meditation space. Receive personal healing and have an unbelievable journey. Reservations Required. $15. Via teleconference. 850-585-5496. [email protected]. HealingPath.info.

FRIDAY, MAY 15Disccovering Your Soul Song with Dr. Michael DeMaria – 7:30-9:30pm, May 15; 1-5pm, May 16. Dr. Michael Brant DeMaria, sound healing artist and integrative psychologist will help participants discover their soul song during this workshop. No musical experience required. A powerful way to learn a positive way to release and let go of difficult emotions. $100. Breathe Yoga and Wellness Center, 505 Adams St, Pensacola. 850-470-4444. [email protected]. BreathePcola.com.

SATURDAY, MAY 16REIKI: Level Two Reiki Training – 11am-5:30pm. Level two Reiki explores the mental and emotional spiritual imbalances that play an integral role in the well-being of each individual. Extensive informa-tion on the 3 practitioner Reiki symbols, meaning, and uses behind them. 8 CEU’s for LMTs. Level One Reiki is a pre-requisite to this class. $250. The Healing Clinic, 184 Brooks St. Bldg 1, FWB. 850-217-2771. [email protected]. The-HealingClinicFwb.com.

THURSDAY, MAY 21The World’s Greatest Baby Shower – 5:30-8pm. All pregnant women and new parents, who’ve had a baby in the last 3 months from Okaloosa and Walton counties, are invited for fun, information, light snacks,

and great baby shower prizes. Information provided on prenatal health, well baby care, parenting, infant health and safety, and immunizations. Free. Emerald Coast Convention Center, 1250 Miracle Strip Pkwy, FWB, 850-833-9284. Ardelle@HealthyStartOkaWal-ton. HealthyStartOkaWalton.org.

Expanded Rays of Light with Alice McCall – 6-7:30pm. Connect with the powerful energy rays that are directly from the divine. Includes related chakra, DNA, and auric work. Reservations Re-quired. Via teleconference. $20. 850-585-5496. [email protected]. HealingPath.info.

Faith in Reiki - 6:30-7:30pm. Felicia McQuaid will be speaking about the power of Reiki and the role of faith in the healing process, sharing insights from her new book:“Uncommon Faith: The journey from dif-ficulty to divine purpose.” Witness how uncommon faith can lead you to unimaginable heights in your heart and in your life. Free. Christ the King Epis-copal Church, 480 North Co Hwy 393, Santa Rosa Beach. 850-217-2771. [email protected]. UncommonFaithBook.com.

SATURDAY, MAY 30Plantar Fasciitis and Reflexology - 8am-5pm. Bobbie Warren, author and IIR instructor from California will teach how to determine types of Fasciitis by locating the source of the pain. She will share the latest in foot taping as well as teach at home exercises to help with the underlying causes. 8 NCBTMB CEUs. $210. Bay Branch Estates, 28347 Turkey Branch Drive, Daphne. 619-469-1694. [email protected]. TheFootLadies.com.

SUNDAY, MAY 31Personality Analysis Through the Feet - 9am-5pm. Learn the secrets of your feet; how they reflect your personality and emotions, how each toe relates to a part of your life, or how your feet fit your chosen profession. Bobbie Warren, author and IIR instructor from California will teach you what your feet have to say. $310. Bay Branch Estates, 28347 Turkey Branch Drive, Daphne. 619-469-1694. [email protected]. TheFootLadies.com.

Immune System Boost with Alice McCall - 3-4pm. Experience energetic work to maintain and propel the health of your immune system so you can be healthy and energetic all summer long. Includes a focus on spleen and lymph areas for maximum effect. Reser-vations Required. Via teleconference. $15. 850-585-5496. [email protected]. HealingPath.info.

SATURDAY, MAY 9Yoga Junkie Studio One Year Anniver-sary Celebration – 10am-4pm. Join the Yoga Junkie Studio to celebrate their one year an-niversary. Classes (Hot & Non-Heated), live music with Austin Jennings, door prizes and giveaways. Free. The Yoga Junkie Studio, 1157 John Sims Pkwy, Niceville. 850-279-6980. YogaJunkieStudio.com.

savethedate

THURSDAY, MAY 14Chakra Balance & Body Detox Special Event – 6-9pm.Come celebrate our changes at The Metamorphosis Clinic, formerly Skindeep with Chakra Balancing and Body Detox treatment specials. Clear energy blockages and renew energy with Chakra Balancing treatment. Experi-ence our Body Detox treatment which increases body alkalinity and assists in reducing the bodys acidity which can result in fatigue, headaches, bloating, acne, joint pain, slow circulation, and panic attacks. The Metamorphosis Clinic, formerly Skindeep Clinic, 4012 Commons Dr. West, Destin. 850-269-1414.

savethedate

SATURDAY, MAY 23Music and March Against Monsanto – 9am-5pm. It’s time to take back our planet with a peaceful, entertaining and educational rally across northwest Florida. Beginning in Panama City, 9-11am, at the bridge, continuing in Fort Walton Beach, 12-2pm, at on Miracle Strip Pkwy at Synergy Organic Cafe and Juice Bar, and finishing in Pensacola, 3-5pm, on Airport Rd in front of Fresh Market. Participants can join in one or more of these rallies, continue on to the next location, or stay and continue marching at the location of choice. More information is available on Facebook/

savethedate


ongoingevents

daily

Hot Yoga – Join us for HOT yoga 10 classes per week. Bring your mat, your towel, some water and your stamina. All levels welcome. Several pricing options. The Yoga Junkie Studio, 1157 John Sims Parkway, Niceville. 850-279-6980. YogaJunkieStudio.com.

Yoga connection PC – Achieve balance in your mind, body and spirit. All levels welcome. Mon: Ashtanga Vinyasa 6pm; Tues: Wellness 11:15 & Hot Yoga 6pm; Wed: Vinyasa 6pm; Thurs: Yoga Back 11:15 & Restorative 6pm; Fri Happy Hour 6pm. $5. Yoga Connection PC, 2629 West 23rd St., Suite H, Panama City. 850-785-8805. [email protected]. YogaConnnectionPc.com.

monday

Massage Monday – 9am-6pm. Reduced rate mas-sage with Mike Ortega (MA 75894) when you use promo code: Mikecc. Massage for balance, health and well-being. $55. The Healing Clinic of Fort Walton Beach, 184 Brooks St, Bldg #1, Fort Walton Beach. 850-217-2771. [email protected]. TheHealingClinicFWB.com.

Yoga w/ Meditation – 11-11:45am. Yoga w/ Meditation. Start your week by getting in touch with your higher self. Find stillness and peacefulness by moving mindfully. Light Energy Dancing, 348 Miracle Strip Pkwy, Suite 27, Fort Walton Beach. 8505431970. [email protected]. LightEnergyDancing.com.

All calendar events must be received by the 15th of the month prior to publication. Limited to approximately 25 words. See exact character count on website. Submit from our website only at NWFNaturally.com. $10 per entry.

tuesday

Aquachi Detox Footbath – 10am-2pm. The AQUACHI Ionic Foot Bath is great therapy for simple detoxing and a natural way to enhance your overall sense of well-being and amplifies the body’s ability to heal itself. The energized water helps to re-balance the body’s energy meridians by permeating and realigning an individual’s energy field. The session is followed with Young Living Essential Oils. $30/30 minute session. The Healing Clinic, 184 Brooks St. Bldg 1, Fort Walton Beach. 850-217-2771. TheHealingClinicFWB.com.

Ballroom Dance Basics – 6:15-7pm. Learn the basics of Cha Cha, Rumba and East Coast Swing. Become the dancers you’ve always wanted to be. Learn in our low stress, nurturing environment.

RadioLiveW U W F P U B L I C M E D I A P R E S E N T S

FEATURING ADMISSION:Suggested donation of non-perishables for Manna Food Pantries.

Museum of Commerce in Historic Downtown Pensacola

ED GERHARD LOUISE MOSRIECLIFF EBERHARDT JONATHAN BYRD BANDPIERCE PETTIS PATCHOULI

3/5

4/2

5/7

Visit wuwf.org or call 850.474.2787 for more information.

BILL MIZECARRIE ELKINDANNY SCHMIDT

Feel comfortable, be fantastic. Light Energy Danc-ing, 348 Miracle Strip Pkwy, Suite 27, Fort Walton Beach. 8505431970. [email protected]. LightEnergyDancing.com.

wednesday

Gentle Flow Yoga – 10-11:15am. Beginner based therapeutic movement combined with breath aware-ness and guided meditation. Healing for the body, mind and soul.Taught by Master Teacher, Felicia McQuaid with over 12yrs of experience. 850-217-2771. Drop in fee. Dragonfly Yoga, 184 Brooks St. Bldg 2, FWB. 850-217-2771.TheHealingClinicFWB.com.

Taoist Tai Chi Beginner Class – 5pm. Give your-self the gift of health this year. Tai Chi practice is for everyone. Beginners are welcome any time. A Dance Studio, 1047 E John Sims Pkwy, Niceville. 334-328-8647. [email protected]. Taoist.org.

Candlelight Yoga – 5:45-7pm. Melt your stress away in this creative flow class designed to soothe and warm your body while you release tension and renew your strength in the soft glow of candlelight. $15/drop in, packages available. Sunshine Yoga, 211-E Main St, Destin. 850-687-8603. Kim@Sun shineYogaStudio.com. SunshineYogaStudio.com.

thursday

Waiest Qigong – 6:15-7:15am. Waiest® Qigong, Tai Chi & Meditation Class - Train with a true chi monk in the Zen Center at Dragon Dojo Martial Arts. Come by and try it for free. Call 850-248-0999 or 850-248-8997. $45 a month. Zen Center, 3901 W. Hwy. 390, Panama City. Waiest.com.

Caregivers Education & Support Group – 2-4pm. 4th Thur. Covenant Alzheimer’s Services Caregiver Education and Support Group. Onsite respite care can be provided. RSVP, Maureen: 850-244-8933. Unity of Ft Walton Beach, 1797 Hurlburt Rd, FWB.


classifiedsSubmit classified entries online only at NWFNaturally.com. The submission form is located on the Advertising web page. $20 for 20 words, $1 per extra word.

FREE WORKSHOPS “A HEALTHIER YOU” – Deana Cooper Chapman, CCH, CNLP; Offers free monthly workshops that cover In-somnia, Weight Loss, Sports Performance, Ad-diction, Self-confidence and more! Change your thinking and achieve your highest goals with powerful tools including NLP, Hypnosis and Life Coaching.8th Element Wellness, 90 Beal Pkwy NW Suite A-1 Ft. Walton Beach. 850-261-3596.

HEALTH COACHING, NUTRITION AND PERSONAL TRAINING – Do you want to lose weight, get rid of stress, feel good? I offer coach-ing, meal plans, personal training and Yahweh yoga to help you reach your goals. I will guide you daily and help you succeed. Call Tracy at 850-481-6992.

HELP WANTED

FREE HELP WANTED CLASSIFIED POSTINGS – Natural Awakenings is commit-ted helping our community find work and employ-ment. Post your help wanted listing, up to 20 words, free of charge in 2015. Deadline is the 15th of the month prior to the month published. We reserve the right to edit, accept or reject all submissions based on suitability.

MODELS WANTED – Currently seeking mod-els for a Brazilian wax, Esthetician and Balayage Hair Color. Services provided by Junior Stylist. Each service is $25 to cover cost of products. When booking, please let us know you are inter-ested in being a model. Brava Hair Studio, Day Spa & Boutique,FWB. 850-833-3003. Brava HairStudio.com.

PRODUCTS

CANNABIS BEAUTY DEFINED ANTI-AGING SKIN CARE – This revitalizing hemp CBD skin care line soothes and detoxes. http://store.kannaway.com/?1846850 850-384-1075.

GEOTHERMAL HVAC SYSTEM FOR YOU HOME. Let the earth do the work of heating and cooling your home. Geo-Thermal systems are easy on your pocket and easy on the earth. P.A.C.E. qualified Contractor. Call today to learn more, 850-244-2665 or go to Emerald AirServices.com.

GOURMET LOOSE LEAF TEA – Let The Zen Center show you how to enjoy dessert, fruit infused, green, herbal & exotic black teas. 3901 W Hwy 390, Panama City. 850-248-8997.

JUICE, SMOOTHIES, SOUPS AND SALADS – Enjoy our juice and smoothie bar; organic salads to go and organic soups (cold months). 9am-3pm. Mon-Fri. Golden Almond Health Food Store. 339 Racetrack Road, NW. FWB. 850-863-5811. GoldenAlmond.com.

ROOM RENTALS

PRACTITIONER ROOM AVAILABLE – 8th Element Wellness is looking for a reliable, enthu-siastic Health care practitioner who wants to rent space and be a complimentary addition to our team. Room for rent in calm environment at 90 Beal Pkwy in Ft Walton Bch. If interested, please call Christie at 850-598-7515 or Alex at 850-582-2285.

SERVICES

DEEP CLEANSING FACIAL – Deep Cleans-ing Facial includes a Microdermabrasion and Enzyme Peel. Only $75 (regular cost over $200). Brava Hair Studio, Day Spa & Boutique, FWB. 850-833-3003. BravaHairStudio.com.

LASER THERAPY AND MORE – Pro-Active Chiropractic, Dr. Brian Schuessler provides adjustments, Chiropractic, massage, Ultrasound, Cryotherapy, Custom Foot Orthotics as well the treatment utilizing LASER therapy. Call for an appointment today. 850-279-4913. 4591 Hwy 20E, Suite 201, Niceville.

NATURAL HEALTH CONSULTANTS – Knowledeable, experienced staff members avail-able to help with your questions about natural and organic foods, herbs, supplements and anti-aging products. Golden Almond Health Food Store. 339 Racetrack Road, NW. FWB. 850-863-5811. GoldenAlmond.com.

PORTRAITS – Professional portrait studio with amazing backdrops, unique monthly themes, glam-orous and romantic styles, plus full of vintage and antique props and backgrounds. 90 minute photo session includes 3 finished digital portraits. Only $200. Brava Hair Studio, Day Spa & Boutique. 850-833-3003. BravaHairStudio.com.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO LIVE WITH PAIN – Not just a massage, MyoFascial Release helps those with pain who thought they were beyond help. This special technique has helped thousands of people reduce levels of pain from issues with back,neck & foot pain,headaches, injury rehab, fibromyalgia, plantar fasciitis, Carpal Tunnel. Call Janet 850-231-9131 lic# MA17333.

CLASSES/TRAININGYoga Vinyasa Flow – 6-7pm. This class is perfect for all levels. Beginners welcome.Learn the basics of yoga and learn to become mindful of the breath. Relax, release and start the journey to a happier you.Light Energy Dancing, 348 Miracle Strip Pkwy, Ste 27, FWB. 850-543-1970. [email protected]. LightEnergyDancing.com.

friday

Kids Yoga w/Shantaya – 4-4:45pm. Introduce your children to yoga with this fun, interactive class. The perfect way to enter the weekend relaxed and in-spired. Give your kids the gift of self-care, compas-sion and wisdom. $60.00. East of Eden Retreat and Spa, 234 Dog Hobble Ln, Point Washington, Santa Rosa Beach. 850-797-4754. [email protected]. EastOfEdenRetreatAndSpa.com.

Beginner’s Yoga – 5:30pm. Beginner’s Yoga 101 is an introductory class for those who are curious about yoga. Learn proper alignment of the most common poses in a fun and safe environment. All ages welcome.(12+). The Yoga Junkie Studio, 1157 John Sims Parkway, Niceville. 850-279-6980. YogaJunkieStudio.com.

saturday

All Ages Yoga – 9am-10am. All Ages Yoga is yoga for the whole family. This class is for those who want to bring their kids or come alone and experience a casual and fun yoga class that will energize you for the rest of the weekend! This is not kid’s yoga, it’s just kid-friendly yoga. All ages and levels welcome. . Kids 14 & under free/ $15 adults. Sunshine Yoga, 211-E Main Street, Destin. 850-687-8603. [email protected]. SunshineYogaStudio.com.

Meditation & Pranic Healing Clinic – 9:15-10:15am. Twin Hearts Meditation to bless the planet, the people in your life and bring blessings into your own life. Stay afterward for our free Pranic Heal-ing clinic. Donations. Light Energy Dancing, 348 Miracle Strip Pkwy, Suite 27, Fort Walton Beach. 8505431970. [email protected]. LightEnergyDancing.com.

sundayPrenatal Yoga Returning to Yoga Junkie – 5:30pm. Join certified prenatal yoga instructor for this amazing class for the mom-to-be. This class will help you cope with stress, and prepare your body for birth while keeping mom fit and healthy. The Yoga Junkie Studio, 1157 John Sims Parkway, Niceville. 850-279-6980. YogaJunkieStudio.com.


ACUPUNCTUREREBECCA FREEMAN, AP, MAOM1180 Eglin Pkwy NE, Shalimar 850-902-2536 • [email protected]

Caring and compassionate masters of acupuncture and Oriental medi-cine acupuncture. More than 12 years’ experience relieving all types of pain, including: headaches, fe-male problems, digestive problems and more.

KOVAR CHIROPRACTIC & WELLNESS CENTERJohn S Kovar, DC29 G Miracle Strip Hwy SW, FWB850-244-1200 • DrKovar.com

Experience the many benefits of acupuncture. Restoring health naturally to patients for more than 30 years, Dr. Kovar also offers chiropractic care, nutrition re-sponse testing with designed clinical nutrition, and massage.

DR ANAYA PALAY, DAOMDoctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Calhoun Chiropractic16600 Back Beach Pkwy, Panama City Beach • 850-230-1288

Using ancient wisdom to holisti-cally treat today’s illnesses. Spe-cializing in: Women’s Health in-cluding painful or heavy periods, fertility, pre- and post-natal care, peri-menopause and beyond.

DR SHERYL ROE Acupuncture PhysicianNavarre • FWB850-225-3460 • DrSRoe.com

Acupuncture works. Learn how it can work for you at the Navarre, Destin or Mary Esther. Treating all types of pain, addiction, sleep disorders, stress, fibromyalgia, PTSD. Feel better soon. See ad, page 20.

ACUPUNCTURE FACELIFTDR SHERYL ROE Acupuncture PhysicianNavarre • FWB850-225-3460 • DrSRoe.com

Acupuncture works. Learn how it can work for you at the Navarre, Destin or Mary Esther. Treating all types of pain, addiction, sleep disorders, stress, fibromyalgia, PTSD. Feel better soon. See ad, page 20.

ACUPUNCTURE VETERINARIANCHRIS LEWIS DVM, CVACertified Veterinary Acupuncturist 2101 N Palafox St • [email protected]

Specialized in acupuncture for animals to treat issues involving pain management, arthritis, anxiety, hip dysplasia, skin and other conditions not responding to conven t iona l Ve te r ina r i an Medicine as well as providing traditional Veterinarian medical support. See ad, page 36.

AIR CONDITIONINGEMERALD AIR SERVICES, L.L.C. HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING112 Beal Pkwy SW, FWB850-244-2665 • EmeraldAirFWB.com

To greatly improve system e f f i c i e n c y, e q u i p m e n t performance, and longevity, eliminate fil ter-changing inconveniences and provide you home with the purest,

healthiest air. Choose Everclean Green. See ad, page 4.

AYURVEDAEMERALD COAST FUNCTIONAL FAMILY MEDICINEPeter Kozlowski, M.D.850-830-7517 • [email protected]

Emerald Coast Functional Family Medicine offers food sensitivity testing, functional medicine and heal thy aging consultat ions, hormone replacement therapy, medical detoxification, nutrition, prenatal care, pr imary care, pediatrics, second opinions and specialized testing. See ad, page 27.

communityresourceguideConnecting you to the leaders in natural healthcare and green living in our community. To find out how you can be included in the Community Resource Guide email [email protected] to request our media kit or call 850-687-0826.

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BODYWORKERS

CARING TOUCH Janet Hardy, LMT Board Certified since 1994Myofascial Release Therapist Expert LevelSanta Rosa Beach • 850-231-9131CaringTouchTherapy.net

In her 20+ years of massage therapy Janet has found the John F. Barnes’ Approach® to be the most effective and holistic treatment for the relief of pain and optimal health. MA17333. See ad, page 34.

HEALING WATERS PAIN THERAPY215 Mountain Dr, Ste 112, Destin Bill 850-461-0058, Ryan 850-624-8742HealingWatersPainTherapy.com [email protected]

Fast and effective body healing through combining use of the Myokinesthetic System™ and the MPS (microcurrent point stimulation). Most problems are nearly pain-free in four treatments. See ad, page 10.

MIKE ORTEGA, LMT & REIKI MASTER TEACHERTHE Healing Clinic of Fort Walton Beach850-217-2771TheHealingClinicFWB.com

Mike uses use massage therapy techniques and Reiki energy movement to enhance the nerves, muscles, glands and circulation within for balance and well-being. Mondays w/ Mike just $55 for 1 hour. MA75894.

BOUTIQUEBRAVA HAIR STUDIO, DAY SPA & BOUTIQUE [email protected] 850-833-3003 • BravaHairStudio.com

Brava Boutique is full of fun and exotic gifts from all over the world. Everything from organic pastas from Italy to Charles Viancin echo friendly

lids for healthy food storage. See ad, page 14.

BEAUTYBRAVA HAIR STUDIO, DAY SPA & BOUTIQUE [email protected] 850-833-3003 • BravaHairStudio.com

Shampoos and conditioners incorporate pure aromatherapy essential oils which are benefi-cial to your hair and also your well being. Continued educa-tion and frequent training al-

low us to provide the most up to date trends and techniques. See ad, page 14.

SALON VEDATJanice Skene114-B Benning Dr, Destin • [email protected] • SalonVedat.com

Organic Salon Systems started a revolution of healthier, natural, organic, better performing professional products. Beauty without sacrif icing health. C o l o r i n g a n d s m o o t h i n g treatments for silky, healthy hair. No SLS, ammonia, parabens, plastics. See ad, page 35.

SILA BEAUTY AND HEALTHP.O Box 761, Pensacola850-542-7102SilaBeautyAndHealth.comSilaBeautyAndHealth@gmail.com

Sila is an all natural dietary supplement for optimal hair growth that restores hair vitality a n d s u p p o r t s t h e n a t u r a l production of collagens ability to increase hair thickness and strength. See ad, page 3.

BIO-IDENTICAL HORMONE THERAPY

NITIN BAWA, MD Panama City: 850-534-4170Santa Rosa Beach: 850-534-4170Destin: 850-424-7320 • DrBawa.com

General medicine with a holistic wellness approach and specialized services in bio-identical hormone therapy, weight loss, food allergies, nutritional analysis and anti-aging procedures. Most insurance accepted. See ad, page 8.

BREAST SCREENINGHEND-RX NUTRITION & LABORATORIESDr. Garry Hendricks, N.D. 205 Kelly Ave NE, Ste A, FWB850-736-5700 • [email protected]

Screening with thermography can detect abnormalities in the v e r y e a r l i e s t s t a g e s cardiovascular, breast thyroid, hormonal digestive, diabetes, TMJ. Also offering personalized healthcare assessments and

organic botanical supplements. See ad, page 11.

CHIROPRACTICBLUEWATER CHIROPRACTIC WELLNESS CENTERApril Lee, DC4400 Hwy 20 E, Niceville 850-897-1177 • BluewaterChiropractic.com

Natural and holistic healthcare. Offering chiropractic care, lumbar decompression, physical therapies, massage therapy, nut r i t ional education and supplementation. Allow the body to heal the way it was designed.

HENARD FAMILY CHIROPRACTICDr Karen Henard, DC4566 Hwy 20 E, Ste 205, Niceville850-897-1105 • HenardChiro.com

A second generation chiropractor, Dr. Henard is committed to chiropractic wellness for the family, improving health naturally. More than 16 years’ experience in pediatrics, sports and automobile injuries. Most insurance and affordable cash plans.

KOVAR CHIROPRACTIC & WELLNESS CENTERJohn S Kovar, DC29 G Miracle Strip Hwy SW, FWB850-244-1200 • DrKovar.com

Practicing locally for over 30 years, expertise in treating pain conditions, auto injury and restoring health naturally through nutrition response t e s t i n g , c l i n i c a l n u t r i t i o n , acupuncture , massage and chiropractic wellness care.

I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen.

~Ernest Hemingway


ENERGY CONSERVATIONEMERALD AIR SERVICES, HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING112 Beal Pkwy SE, FWB850-244-2665 • EmeraldAirFWB.com



FLORIDA PACEVeronica CrossOutreach Coordinator 866-558-3180 • FloridaPace.gov

Florida PACE program is a sustainable energy funding program that provides up to 100% financing for energy saving efficient projects based on property equity

and repayment through tax rolls.

FARMERS’ MARKET30A FARMER’S MARKETS Sundays 9am-1pm3 locations:Rosemary Beach Town Center, on 30 AGrand Boulevard at Sandestin, on Hwy 98 WaterColor Coastal Cerulean Park, on 30A850-499-4697 • 30AFarmersMarket.com

Serene, beautiful, dis-tinctive and exclusive is the best way to de-scribe the 30A Farm-ers’ Market Family. European and coastal-inspired markets fea-ture local farmers,

makers, bakers, and specialty vendors in an inviting market experience. See ad, page 37.

FOODS & SUPPLEMENTSBODY-B-HEALTHY 2227 Ferdon Blvd, Crestview850-682-8893 Find us on Facebook

Knowledgeable staff and cutting edge d i g i t a l h e a l t h assessments. Dairy-free and gluten-free

food items, supplements, homeopathic solutions and anti-aging products, plus delicious nutritional smoothies. See ad, page 10.

PRO-ACTIVE CHIROPRACTICDr Brian Schuessler 850-279-49134591 Hwy 20 E, #201Pro-ActiveChiro.com

Adjustments Chiropractic Massage Therapeutic Exercise Ultrasound. Cryotherapy (cold c o m p r e s s ) . C u s t o m F o o t Orthotics Interferential Electro Stimulation Manipulation under Anesthesia (MUA) (When available). See ad, page 20.

COLONIC THERAPYSKINDEEP CLINIC WELLNESS CENTRECindy Butler, Owner/Therapist4012 Commons Dr W, Ste 120, Destin850-269-1414 • SkinDeepDestin.com

Colonics, ionic footbaths, infrared saunas. Organic non-surgical facelift, weight loss (lose 20 lbs in 40 days), body wraps, massage, teeth whitening, airbrush tan, makeovers.

CRAFTS & GIFTSSTONE SOUPIntuitive Spiritual Center700 Beal Pkwy, Unit D, [email protected] • 850-533-6565

Fort Walton’s newest eclectic intuitive cen-ter. Locally made crafts

by local artisans. Intuitive readings, jewelry, paint-ings, incense, crystals, pottery, semi-precious stones, wind chimes, diaper cakes, hand painted furniture. See ad, page 29.

DENTISTRYDR DAYTON HART, DMDIAOMT Protocol225 W Laurel Ave, Foley, AL251-943-2471 • DrDaytonHart.com

Free book: Mercury Free Dentistry. Ozone, laser no-suture gum surgery, test for compatible materials, cavity-causing bacteria. Examine for gum disease bacteria. Laser cavity diagnoses, saliva, ph check, oral galvanic screening; no fluoride.

DR SUSAN WELCH, FAGD106 Wright Pkwy SW, FWB850-243-1534WrightParkwayDentalCenter.com

Healthy digestion, well aligned physical structure, proper breathing and a good nights sleep begin with a healthy mouth. We treat sleep disorders, TMJ, headaches, snoring, and sleep apnea. Plus, crowns, teeth whitening, bridges, veneers, mplant restorations, allgner orthodontics, cleanings, digital x-ray imaging,

laser periodontal treatment. No mercury fillings. See ad, page 25.

DETOXIFICATIONEMERALD COAST FUNCTIONAL FAMILY MEDICINEPeter Kozlowski, M.D.850-830-7517 • [email protected]

Emerald Coast Functional Family Medicine offers food sensitivity testing, functional medicine and healthy aging c o n s u l t a t i o n s , h o r m o n e replacement therapy, medical detoxification, nutrition, prenatal care, primary care, pediatrics,

second opinions and specialized testing. See ad, page 27.

DINING

SYNERGY ORGANIC JUICE BAR AND CAFÉ120 Miraclestrip Pkwy SE850-865-4919SynergyOrganicCafeFWB.com

Juice Bar and Café offers f a r m - t o - t a b l e m e a l s prepared with regionally sourced organic produce and pantry items; gluten-free, dairy-free. Whole

food cooking, juicing, gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan and raw food classes are available. See ad, page 33.

EMOTIONAL HEALINGBACK TO BASIC WELLNESSSusan Giangiulio, MEd, CECP, CLP850-240-2279Back-To-Basic-Wellness.com

Certified Lifeline Technique™ and an Emotion Code Practitioner applying kinesiology, known as muscle testing, to communicate with subconscious thoughts. Release t rapped emotions, eliminate personal obstacles and limiting behaviors.


ESTHER’S GARDEN OF HEALING, LLC8184 Navarre Pkwy • [email protected]

A unique establishment specializing in 150+ bulk herbs , 40+ loose teas , homeopathic remedies and our herbal skincare line. Find us on Facebook for an updated

schedule of our weekly workshops. See ad, page 8.

GOLDEN ALMOND HEALTH FOOD STORE339 Racetrack Rd NW, Ste 3 850-863-5811 • GoldenAlmond.comHours: M-F 9-6, S 10-4, Closed Sun

Natural and organic foods. Largest selec-t ion of herbs and supplements in the area. Enjoy our new fresh juice bar, open

weekdays 10-4. Knowledgeable and personable staff. See ad, back cover.

MOUNT OF OLIVES HEALTH FOODS850-784-9001728 W 23rd St, Panama City MountOfOlives.com

Fea tur ing qua l i ty products we stand behind. Gluten free foods, non GMO, bulk foods, refrigerated/frozen organic foods,

raw foods, cosmetics, organic pet food. See ad, back cover (Panama City edition).




FUNCTIONAL MEDICINEEMERALD COAST FUNCTIONAL FAMILY MEDICINEPeter Kozlowski, M.D.850-830-7517 • [email protected]

Emerald Coast Functional Family Medicine offers food sensitivity testing, functional medicine and heal thy aging consultat ions, hormone replacement therapy, medical detoxification, nutrition, prenatal care, pr imary care, pediatrics, second opinions and specialized testing. See ad, page 27.

GEOTHERMALEMERALD AIR SERVICES, HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING112 Beal Pkwy SE, FWB850-244-2665 • EmeraldAirFWB.com



HEALING ARTS MICHAEL BRANT DEMARIA, PHD Psychologist, Yoga/Meditation Teacher Sound Healing Artist, Speaker, [email protected] • MichaelDemaria.com

Free meditation series at Youtube.com/MBDemaria; upcoming events at PeaceWithinNow.com. Ongoing meditation/yoga classes at Sanders Beach Community Center. 850-436-5198. Healing music available on iTunes, Amazon.com, CDbaby.com.

HEALING PATH, ALICE MCCALLTransformational Energy Healer/CounselorBS Psychology, MBA, Hypnotherapist850-585-5496 • HealingPath.info

Phone sessions to heal serious health issues, unwanted patterns, and more. Authored Wellness Wisdom on natural health and healing; inspired by her journey with cancer.

HOLISTIC MEDICINENITIN BAWA, MD Panama City: 850-534-4170Santa Rosa Beach: 850-534-4170Destin: 850-424-7320 • DrBawa.com

General medicine with a holistic wellness approach and specialized services in bio-identical hormone therapy, weight loss, food aller-gies, nutritional analysis and anti-aging procedures. Most insurance accepted. See ad, page 8.

GULF COAST HOLISTIC PRIMARY CARERaquel Skidmore, MD850-640-1530756 Harrison Ave, Panama CityGulfCoastHolisticPrimaryCare.com

At GCHPC, your health comes first. A philosophy that joins holistic and conventional medical care where we treat the whole human…. mind, body and spirit.P re sc reen ing fo r med ica l marijuana. See ad, page 11.

HYPNOSISDESTIN HYPNOSISTom Mueller, CMC, CHt850-865-0285 • DestinHypnosis.comFacebook.com/DestinHypnosis

Certified hypnotherapist and master life coach. Hypnosis is powerful anytime a change in feeling, thinking or behavior is desired. My mission is your success. Call today. See ad, page 9.

INTUITIVE ARTSTHE HEALING CLINIC OF FORT WALTON BEACHFelicia McQuaid850-217-2771 TheHealingClinicFWB.com

Certified Advanced Angel Reader through Doreen Virtue. Connect with your Angels to receive love filled guidance and clarityabout specific questions and areas of life. Sessions available in person or via skpe or facetime. See ad, page 7.

JUL CONSTANTINEPsychic Connections by Juls850-533-9448JulConstantine@gmail.comPsychicConnectionsByJuls.com

Intuitive, medium, author and teacher. More information on Jul’s website. Discover your intuitive abilities by signing up for a Psychic Development Workshop. Readings are in person or by phone.


JUICE BARSGOLDEN ALMOND HEALTH FOOD STORE339 Racetrack Rd NW, Ste 3 850-863-5811 • GoldenAlmond.comHours: M-F 9-6, S 10-4, Closed Sun

Natural and organic foods. Largest selec-t ion of herbs and supplements in the area. Enjoy our new fresh juice bar, open

weekdays 10-4. Knowledgeable and personable staff. See ad, back cover.




LASER THERAPYPRO-ACTIVE CHIROPRACTICDr. Brian Schuessler 850-279-49134591 Hwy 20 E, #201Pro-ActiveChiro.com

Adjustments Chiropractic Massage Therapeutic Exercise Ultrasound. Cryotherapy (cold compress). C u s t o m F o o t O r t h o t i c s Interferential Electro Stimulation Manipulation under Anesthesia (MUA) (When available). See ad, page 20.

MASSAGE THERAPYBLUEWATER CHIROPRACTIC WELLNESS CENTERApril Lee, DC4400 Hwy 20 E, Niceville 850-897-1177 • BluewaterChiropractic.com

Sports and rehabilitation massage therapy. Natural and holistic healthcare. Chiropractic care, lumbar decompression, physical therapies, nutritional education and supplementation. Allow the body to heal the way it was designed.

EAST OF EDEN RETREAT AND SPA 234 Dog Hobble LnSanta Rosa Beach, FL 32459850-797-4754EastOfEdenRetreatAndSpa.com

The ultimate destination for health and beauty in Northwest Florida, provides a wide range of spa services and holistic treatments to revitalize your body, mind and spirit. Massages, facials, advanced anti-aging skin care, hair styling & m a k e u p , n a t u r o p a t h y a n d

acupuncture are offered in synergy to make your inner & outer beauty shine through. See ad, page 22.

INDIGO EARTH SPA443 Grace Ave, Panama City850-303-3669IndigoEarthSpa.com

E n j o y a n e a r t h -fr iendly, social ly responsible, holistic day spa with a unique earthy style, warm

and welcoming to all. Our treatments are from sustainable, organic, and naturally derived ingredients, handcrafted for every guest. We have services to balance everyone’s needs. lic #31358/ # 69341. See ad, page 31.

MASSAGE ENVY SPA DESTIN& MASSAGE ENVY SPA FWB34904 Emerald Coast Pkwy, Unit #132Destin • 850-650-850099 Eglin Pkwy, Unit #5B, Uptown Station FWB • 850-301-2000MassageEnvy.com

Looking for professional, customized massages andfacials? Our professional massage therapists and estheticians will customize massage and facial to fit

your needs. Make Massage Envy your spa. Two convienent locations in Destin and Fort Walton Beach. See ad, page 9.

MEDITATIONTHE ZEN CENTER • WAIEST QIGONGOF PANAMA CITY 3901 W Hwy 390 • 850-248-8997TheZenCenter.net • Waiest.com

A unique location offering meditation, qigong and other relaxation and stress relief disciplines, Aromatherapy and Yoga supplies, loose leaf exotic teas, herbs and Holistic products & gifts. See ad, page 24.

MYOFASCIAL RELEASECARING TOUCH Janet Hardy, LMT Board Certified since 1994Myofascial Release Therapist Expert LevelSanta Rosa Beach • 850-231-9131CaringTouchTherapy.net

In her 20+ years of massage therapy Janet has found the John F. Barnes’ Approach® to be the most effective and holistic treatment for the relief of pain and optimal health. MA17333. See ad, page 34.

THE HEALING CLINIC OF FORT WALTON BEACHLaura Tyree850-217-2771 • MA68035TheHealingClinicFWB.com

Laura is a highly skilled therapist under the John Barnes technique. Under her extraordinary care clients find relief from long held pain and tension that lasts. This gentle technique of quiet pressure and stretching relieves pain from the restriction of connective tissue. See ad, page 7.

NATUROPATHY HEND-RX NUTRITION & LABORATORIESDr Garry Hendricks, ND205 Kelly Ave NE, Ste A, FWB850-736-5700 • [email protected]



PAIN MANAGEMENTHEALING WATERS PAIN THERAPY215 Mountain Dr, Ste 112 Destin Bill 850-461-0058, Ryan 850-624-8742HealingWatersPainTherapy.com [email protected]

Fast and effective body healing through combining use of the Myokinesthetic System™ and the MPS (microcurrent point stimulation) Most problems are nearly pain-free in four treat-ments. See ad, page 10.


PEST CONTROL-ORGANICEARTH’S CHOICE PEST SOLUTIONS 850-382-3820 • [email protected]

Natural and organic pest s o l u t i o n s . S t a t e certified with 14 years of experience. Child and Pet friendly. No dousing baseboards

with pesticides. 110% Money Back Guarantee.

PHYSICAL THERAPYHEALING WATERS PAIN THERAPY215 Mountain Dr, Ste. 112 Destin Bill 850-461-0058, Ryan 850-624-8742HealingWatersPainTherapy.com [email protected]

Fast and effective body healing through combining use of the Myokinesthetic System™ and the MPS (microcurrent point stimulation) Most problems are nearly pain-free in four treat-ments. See ad, page 10.

PILATES STUDIOSPILATES BY THE SEA-LAURIE BECKTwo LocationsGulf Place Town Center on 30A & 95 Laura Hamilton Blvd, C5, Santa Rosa Beach 850-502-6630LaurieBeck.com

A full Pilates studio for all ages and fitness levels anyBODY can do. Fitness, rehab, sports training, post natal. Best teachers on the Emerald Coast with over 30 years combined experience. See ad, page 15.

PRANIC HEALING

ENERGY ALCHEMY12118 Panama City Beach Pkwy, Ste 10Panama City BeachLorah Buchanan • [email protected] Kathy Johnson • 731-608-1470 [email protected]

Turning imbalance into balance through the use of P r a n i c H e a l i n g , Meditations/Pranic Healing clinics open to the publi.

Private Pranic Healing sessions by appointment.

LIGHT ENERGY DANCING348 Miracle Strip Pkwy, #27(behind IHOP) FWBCall or Text 850-543-1970LightEnergyDancing.com

A se rene space fo r meditation, healing and spirituality. Offering weekly group meditations, healing clinics, yoga combined with energy

healing, private Pranic Healing sessions, and Pranic Healing training. Be happy, be well, be blessed.See ad, page 29.

REIKIFELICIA MCQUAID, LMTMaster Reiki TeacherTHE Healing Clinic of Fort Walton Beach850-217-2771TheHealingClinicFWB.com

Felicia McQuaid has been offering Reiki healing services since 2005. She offers regular trainings in all levels of Traditional Usui Reiki Ryoho and Karuna Reiki. Felicia is known for her insight, grace and compassion while working with students and clients. MA61060. See ad, page 7.

RETREATSEAST OF EDEN RETREAT AND SPA234 Dog Hobble LnSanta Rosa Beach 32459850-797-4754EastOfEdenRetreatAndSpa.com

Spend a few days decompressing, away from the noise of the daily life. Explore our three comfortable short-term rental accommodations on our website. Complimentary sauna, wet steam room, salt-water pool. Discounted spa services & daily yoga classes are available to our retreat guests. See ad, page 22.

WIND CREEK ATMOREYour Spa Destination855-393-7227 303 Poarch Rd, Atmore, AL [email protected] WindCreekAtmore.com

Experience our lavish full-service spa offering you an abundance of amenities to awaken, de-stress and beautify you inside and out. See ad, page 21.

SOLAR POWERCOMPASS SOLAR ENERGYServing NW Florida850-439-0035CompassSolar.com

Since 1989 Compass Solar has provide the area with reliable solar electric, solar water heating, solar pool heating and

solar attic fans powered solely by the Sun. An approved PACE funding contractor. See ad, page 5.

SPA TREATMENTS BRAVA HAIR STUDIO, DAY SPA & BOUTIQUE [email protected] • BravaHairStudio.com

Massage has been prized for centuries as the most effective treatment for relieving stress and therapeutic for eliminating toxin. Great for all over well being. See ad, page 14.

EAST OF EDEN RETREAT AND SPA 234 Dog Hobble LnSanta Rosa Beach 32459850-797-4754EastOfEdenRetreatAndSpa.com

The ultimate destination for health and beauty in Northwest Florida, provides a wide range of spa services and holistic treatments to revitalize your body, mind and spirit. Massages, facials, advanced anti-Aging skin care, hair styling & makeup, naturopathy and

acupuncture are offered in synergy to make your inner & outer beauty shine through. See ad, page 22.

SHANNON FAULK, LMT, ESTH, NTOcean Elements Day Spa, Lic# MM19166850-598-794590 Spires Ln, #8-A, Santa Rosa Beach

Enjoy aTrue

Holistic Spa

HERBella Apothecary & Wellness at Ocean Elements Day spa

Massage therapy • Organic facials • Rain Drop TherapyOrganic Herbs & essential oils • Natural nail services

Cold pressed organic plant oils • Aromatherapy • ReikiAll Products free of paraben, synthetic dyes, harmful chemicals, perfumes and irritants. All products are

vegetarian based, some are vegan and gluten-free.

Group workshops, classes, and spa packages are also available.

(850)598-7945Located in the 30-A community of Gulf Place

90 Spires Ln, Unit #8A • Santa Rosa Beach

OceanElement-Spa.com

Holistic and organic, massage, facials, peels, natural nails, gentle waxing, body treatments. Reiki, crystal and aromatherapy sessions, ear candling, detoxification and wellness. Call for appointment.


HOT YOGA OM222 Miracle Strip Pkwy SE Unit ADowntown Fort Walton Beachwww.hotyogaom.com850-217-2771 Hot Yoga Om features Far

Infrared Heat.Radiant Heat. Radiant Life. Daily classes, amazing teachers. Your first class is $5. Experience it for yourself. See ad, page 7.

SUNSHINE YOGA211-E Main St, Destin 850-687-8603 • SunshineYogaStudio.com

This cozy yoga studio located in the heart of Destin offers a variety of classes to suit the whole family. Owner/Instructor Kim Mosby, RYT 200.

STANDUP PADDLEBOARD YOGASOUL SHINE SUP YOGA239-560-6667 • Shanda Beste30APaddleboardYoga.com InnerChiWellness.com

Beginner’s welcome. Learn how to paddle, enjoy the benefits of yoga, and experience sun-kissed bliss. Weekly classes, private lessons, parties, retreats. Fun, sun, fitness and adventure. Let your soul shine. See ad, page 25.

YOGAJUNKIE STUDIO850-279-69801157 John Sims Pkwy, NicevilleYogaJunkieStudio.com

Yoga, hot yoga, warm yoga and prenatal yoga, gentle, beginners, Pilates, Hatha and flow. Kristy Souto and Teri Harnett owners previously at Barefoot Yoga. See ad, page 29.

INDIGO EARTH SPA443 Grace Ave, Panama City850-303-3669IndigoEarthSpa.com

E n j o y a n e a r t h -fr iendly, social ly responsible, holistic day spa with a unique earthy style, warm

and welcoming to all. Our treatments are from sustainable, organic, and naturally derived ingredients, handcrafted for every guest. We have services to balance everyone’s needs. Lic #31358/ # 69341. See ad, page 31.

WIND CREEK ATMOREYour Spa Destination855-393-7227 303 Poarch Rd, Atmore, AL [email protected] WindcreekAtmore.com

Experience our lavish full-service spa offering you an abundance of amenities to awaken, de-stress and beautify you inside and out. See ad, page 21.

SPIRITUAL CENTERSUNITY IN FORT WALTON BEACH1797 Hurlburt Rd, FWB850-864-1232 • UnityInFWB.org

W e w e l c o m e a l l interested in seeking an inner awareness of God. We promote love, joy and peace through our thoughts, words and deeds.

UNITY OF PANAMA CITY1764 Lisenby Ave, Panama City850-769-7481 [email protected]

Committed to helping people find the way to their own understanding and experience of God and offering positive, practical resources for an

abundant and meaningful life. See ad, page 25.

THERMOGRAPHYHEND-RX NUTRITION & LABORATORIESDr. Garry Hendricks, N.D. 205 Kelly Ave NE, Ste. A, FWB850-736-5700 • [email protected]



WEIGHT-MANAGEMENT NITIN BAWA, MD Panama City: 850-534-4170Santa Rosa Beach: 850-534-4170Destin: 850-424-7320 • DrBawa.com

General medicine with a holistic wellness approach and specialized services in bio-identical hormone therapy, weight loss, food aller-gies, nutritional analysis and anti-aging procedures. Most insurance accepted. See ad, page 8.

WELLNESS CENTERLIGHT ENERGY DANCING348 Miracle Strip Pkwy, #27, (behind IHOP), FWBCall or Text 850-543-1970LightEnergyDancing.com

Yoga, meditation, energy therapy, Pranic Healing, - Young Living Essential Oils . Reduce s tress , release resentment and clarify your goals. Let us

be your cheerleaders and guides as you move towards a happier, healthier you. See ad, page 29.

YOGA STUDIOSDRAGONFLY YOGA STUDIESDowntown FWB850-244-0184 • (MM16502)DragonFlyYoga.com

Serene environment for the study and practice of hatha yoga. Certified instructors. Owner/Director Laura Tryee, E-RYT 500. See ad, page 7.

EAST OF EDEN RETREAT AND SPA234 Dog Hobble LnSanta Rosa Beach 32459850-797-4754EastOfEdenRetreatAndSpa.com

Our Yoga Dome offers a variety of yoga styles combined with the healing effects of Chromatherapy. Immerse yourself in the healing light while practicing Hatha, Vinyasa, Bhakti, Yin and yoga for beginners with our inspiring certified yoga instructors. Our

Yoga Dome is home to educational workshops and community acupuncture events. See ad, page 22.


Serving Fort Walton for over 30 years

850-863-5811 • GoldenAlmond.com339 NW Racetrack Rd • Suite 3 • FWB

Knowledgeable and Friendly Staff!

$3.00 OFFany Garden Of Life Organic Plant Protein

Exp 5/31/15

Come in todayand take advantage of the 20% already

marked down Organic Plant Protein line!

Organic Plant ProteinThe Organic Plant Protein from Garden Of Life is a completely vegan, grain-free, paleo diet

friendly, organic, and Non-GMO certified protein that is completely smooth with no gritty texture.

• Health Foods & Natural Vitamins

• Herbs & Homeopathic Remedies

• Organic Free Range & Local Meats

• Aromatherapy & Essential Oils

• Paleo Breads, Wraps, Crackers, Bars, etc.

•Organic Wines, Beers & Kombucha

In-store Organic Soups, Salads, Juices, Smoothies, Wheatgrass Shots & Wraps.

Gluten/ Soy/Dairy-free and Vegan Products

STORe HOuRS:MON-FRI 9AM - 6PM • SAT 10AM - 4PM

ORGANiC CAFé, JuiCe & SMOOTHie BARMon-Fri 9AM-3PM

Documents

Natural Awakenings Emerald Coast May 2015