Save-The-Date! February 27th, 2016: Marnie Reasor, CCH, RSHom (NA) of Resplendent Healing is Teaming up with THF for a Women's Health Retreat!

I'm so excited to team up with Marnie Reasor of Resplendent Healing for a women's health retreat which will focus on a homeopathic approach to menopause and peri-menopause. As I've moved from night sweats in my early 40s to irregular cycles and two-week bouts of PMS in peri-menopause, I've often wanted to talk to Marnie about how I can head-off these bothersome symptoms at the pass. I for one will be so happy to learn from Marnie and am pretty sure I'll have some questions handy for her Q&A.

I've known Marnie for many years and although she has temporarily moved her practice to Nashville, Marnie still maintains relationships with many clients in the bay area. This is a great opportunity to hear Marnie speak in person about her Homeopathy practice and her approach to helping thousands of women work through their menopause symptoms naturally. Marnie has spent many years specializing in this topic and will also be available after her talk for a Q&A. 

The setting will be the lovely and funky Headlands Center for the Arts. What a great way to see this historic building in the gorgeous Marin Headlands! The day will also include a cooking demo, a hike to Rodeo Beach (weather permitting), a light breakfast, a full lunch, afternoon tea and snack break and an all-level 1.5 hour yoga session to end the day.

Stay tuned for further announcements regarding this terrific retreat. For under $200.00 this retreat is a terrific deal and we will all walk away with not only a lovely and peaceful day to remember, but many years of wisdom regarding how to care for our bodies during this challenging time in life.

Hope to see you there!

The Healing Farm - Cultivating Practical Wellness

"The Shelf" - How Stress, Weight Gain, Age and Loss of Everyday Exercise Take Their Toll

Not my belly fat! I wasn't that brave. It's not easy to find an attractive picture of belly fat and I wasn't about to show my own!

Well, the shelf is really upside down. More like an overhang. The overhang is my belly fat. How hard is that to admit? Truly hard. I've worked so hard over the past few years to get myself out of chronic pain and illness and part of that was losing 25 pounds. As many women know, after 40 the metabolism changes, weight starts to pile on and shift to places you've never had fat before and it gets harder to lose it. As if being a woman with many years of PMS, etc weren't bad enough, suddenly it gets more challenging. In walks major life-challenges that come with being in your late forties and early fifties and then WHAM! Peri-menopause. Things get even more challenging! PMS starts lasting two weeks, your cycle gets whacky, your sleep cycle gets whacky and it's even HARDER to control weight. Unfair!

I was so inspired by my Paleo Reset Retreat attendee, Stephanie and her story of turning 50 and have thought long and hard about my own challenges deciding to embark on a major career change adding incredible stress to my life and with it, the weight gain, decrease in exercise and subsequent returning of some of my back pain. To be sure, the back pain is still barely there and nothing like it was before and I haven't gotten any of my other chronic conditions returning on a regular basis, but it's really an eye opener when you see direct results from slacking off on your commitment to keeping up with your health. It's slowly happened to me and here I am telling OTHER people how to take control of their health!

To be fair to myself, I'm still managing to get plenty of sleep at night, I'm still doing my 7 minute workout at least three times a week, plus the follow up stretches, but am under a lot of stress, burned myself pretty severely and followed that up with a rare cold which lasted two weeks so barely exercised during that time AND I've delegated all of my errands to my hubby which means I'm not walking and riding my bike as much. It's amazing how quickly we can let ourselves slip out of our healthy habits and to observe the direct results.

I'm so excited to be planning a new one day retreat which will take place this February and which I'm putting the finishing touches on tomorrow. I will announce it in my THF newsletter next week, but in a nutshell I'll be thrilled to have Marnie Raesor of Resplendent Healing as the speaker for a retreat called "The Homeopathic Approach to Menopause". Over the years, Marnie has dedicated her Homeopathy practice to helping her clients prepare themselves to naturally resolve the many challenges of peri- and full menopause. I'm thrilled to bring her here from Nashville to share her years of wisdom with our participants. What a terrific way to condense your learning into one day in a beautiful location and to learn how to head off some of the symptoms of aging at the pass!

The Healing Farm - Cultivating Practical Wellness!

Joni Won! The Story of Two Pals, the Jubilee Adventure and How That Led Them to the Paleo Reset Retreat!

Stephanie on the left and Joni on the right

Congratulations to Joni! She's the winner of the free week at the Paleo Reset retreat at Mayacamas Ranch! I love the story of how these two decided to sign up for the retreat and wanted to share!

Joni and Stephanie have been friends for over ten years. They met in Nebraska where Stephanie still lives. Joni has since headed out to live in California but the two have remained close friends and both follow Chris Kresser and listen to his podcasts regularly. Now here's the really fun part. Stephanie is currently in the middle of what she calls her "Jubilee Adventures". I had looked forward to hearing from Stephanie what exactly that meant and was hoping to talk to her about it either at the Paleo Reset or the Joshua Tree Retreat (which may also be a part of her jubilee) but then decided it would be fun to do a blog post about these friends: Joni winning the free week and what exactly a "jubilee" is! 

So here's the story. Stephanie lost her dad in 2013, her mom in 2014 and then turned 50 in 2015. In the many hours she was at her mom's bedside in the hospital, she began to let her mind drift to dreaming of being on a spa vacation (I think many of us would do the same in such despair). Although Stephanie has managed to live with a healthy diet and fit lifestyle in the middle of Nebraska (believe me, being a fellow midwesterner, I know how challenging that can be!) and eventually even became certified to be a personal trainer, she longed to immerse herself in healthy eating and healing with like-minded people in a peaceful setting. Someplace she could unplug, eat well, have time to hear her own thoughts and not be overwhelmed with activity or anything intense. And even though she's at a place in her life where she could afford to spend a little money on herself, she admits to being a bit frugal. After her parent's deaths she began looking for that perfect spa or retreat experience and none of them really fit the bill. She found it was exasperating. They were either too expensive, too intense, all vegetarian and so on and so on. The perfect place in her mind simply didn't exist so she put the idea on hold.

In walks the big 5-0 birthday! As it approached, she sat in her living room one Sunday afternoon with her husband and two college and high school-aged kids and suddenly exclaimed that she "needed more adventure in her life!". Her family looked at her like she had lost her mind but she knew deep down she was being called to do something special in her 50th year. She knew in the depth of her being that she was always more "alive" when she was doing something outside of her norm. She knew that women default to always thinking and doing for others and especially felt that way as a mother and knew it was time to find something that would feed who she is. She realized asking herself what made her "feel alive" was a really tough question.

She began to come up with a plan for the "Jubilee Adventure". Every month in her 50th year she committed to doing something adventurous. Some things she'd done before but also trying some things she'd never experienced. She became aware that this was where the spa or retreat experience was going to fit in. Next thing she knew, her good friend Joni sent her a link to the Paleo Reset retreat and she knew right away this was what she was looking for. An immersion into healthy eating with like-minded individuals. A place she could go and unplug and listen to her own thoughts. It was reasonably priced, plus Chris Kresser was going to speak! It really fit the bill!

As someone who also found a missing link in the spa and retreat industry, I was enthralled by Stephanie's story and thrilled she recognized that what I was attempting to do was truly unique. How encouraging and exciting and I'm more than thrilled to have Stephanie and Joni join me (and us!) at the Paleo Reset Retreat in April. Welcome Joni and Stephanie! 

Join Wellness Warrior Today as Part of "Giving Tuesday"!

Rancho la Puerta a is one of my favorite places in the world! I'm fortunate to go there one or two times a year to do photography for their marketing materials (see their facebook page and you'll see two of my photos as their banner and cover photo and the current post is my good friend Laurel lounging in a hammock - also taken by me!). The founder Deborah Szekely is still doing amazingly important work even at the age of 93! I love that she basically started a people's lobby movement to try to go against big agriculture in Washington and to spread the wellness movement word! Her movement and website is called Wellness Warrior and I urge you to check it out and join! Great news I read this morning in The New York Times is that that the rate of diabetes in the U.S. is actually declining so the movement seems to be working!

Here's what they are asking today on "Giving Tuesday":

Join me for the WW 2015 Member Appreciation contest & win gifts from your favorite wellness brands! Go to the Wellness Warrior sign up page by December 15th and sign up for the newsletter  and then share with friends and be entered for prizes!

Last Chance to Win a Free Week at the Paleo Reset Retreat!

Tomorrow (December 1st) is the last chance to win a free week at the Maycamas Ranch Paleo Reset retreat taking place April 17th through April 24th in Calistoga California featuring a keynote address and Q&A with functional medicine practitioner Chris Kresser, a full week of eating meals carefully prepared to follow the first week of your paleo reset and lectures and access to one of Chris Kresser's recommended nutritionists! With daily hikes and yoga and field trip add-ons this week will be a spa-like vacation and with prices averaging $1,800.00 for double occupancy an absolute affordable deal! Hold your spot by putting down your deposit by midnight December 1st and be included in a drawing for a free week!

How Chris Kresser Changed My Life.

That's a big statement. I know. But I can passionately say it with conviction. It's why I'm so thrilled that today Chris announced in his newsletter that The Healing Farm will be producing a week-long "Paleo Reset" retreat April 17-24, 2016.

Why do I want to produce a week-long retreat featuring Chris' work? Because I want to shout from the mountaintops that you do not have to live with chronic conditions or you can significantly reduce the debilitating pain or discomfort they may cause in your life.

When I was going through the first week of my paleo reset I longed to be with like-minded people with whom I could talk things through. I wished I could consult with Chris as questions popped up. I wished I could have someone show me how to make bone or chicken broth. I wished I could have someone make it easier for me by preparing the foods that would help me change my life. So after I worked through my own reset and cured my own chronic health issues I was inspired to share my journey and change my own life with a career change. I now had the energy having lifted all of the chronic conditions that were weighing me down.

I was fortunate enough to meet Chris through a mutual friend. Through our friend (who is also my massage therapist (Angela!) Chris and his wife hired me to photograph their maternity session. Having done body work on me for years, Angela was intimately knowledgeable about all of my chronic conditions and asked if I knew what kind of work Chris was doing. When I found out about Chris' work, I immediately contacted him about my health issues. I was lucky enough to get in with him and began working with him. He was the first to tell me that living with all of my discomfort was not normal and that I could probably overcome at least some of these issues. Having ruled out an auto-immune disease (although this could still be a contributing factor) and getting rid of a parasite in my system, Chris encouraged me to try his "paleo reset" elimination diet. This was even before he had written his book which when first on the shelves was called "Your Personal Paleo Code"

What I loved about Chris' approach and the first title of his book is that he's really pretty hands-off. Even though I didn't have much money to spend, I was desperate to keep meeting with him because I was so encouraged to know that I could probably live pain-free. Chris really encouraged me to listen to my own body throughout the process and to find what worked for me. Basically after a few months, when I wanted to schedule a follow up he asked me if I was still feeling better. I said yes and he said, well then you know what works for you. Keep at it. 

It's now about five years later and I'm happily living (almost 100%) without the following conditions (most of which I had been living with since my mid-twenties (I'm now 49):

Add "chronic" to all of these conditions:

• fatigue
• sinus headaches (so severe most people would consider them migraines)
• indigestion (sometimes so bad I thought I was having a heart attack)
• low libido
• restless leg syndrome
• weight fluctuation
• and finally the straw that broke the camel's back (no pun intended) chronic back pain that started about eight years ago

What was so incredible to me was that by simply changing my diet (I'm mostly gluten and dairy free) and strengthening my core, I could literally change my life. Living with chronic conditions is debilitating. I was living my life, running a business, in a successful marriage, but struggled every day to pull myself up by the bootstraps to live my life. If you had asked me seven years ago after the chronic back pain set in that I would be 49 years old, almost pain free and would have enough energy to work on switching my career I would have laughed. Sometimes I wished I could just curl up in a spot of sun like a cat and spend the rest of my life like that. That's a pretty sad state to be in. In the past year since working toward starting The Healing Farm, there have been some times when I've been so elated I would say I was having "mountaintop moments". I didn't think I could feel that way in my life any longer and I hadn't felt that way since my early 20s since the first symptoms started creeping into my life. I laugh these days and say that instead of having the seven year itch in my marriage (we celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary last June) my husband and I are in our seven year renaissance. That feels REALLY good to say. Now when I'm tired, it's because I'm literally running two businesses, am experiencing a typical mid-life family crisis and well, I'm almost 50!

So, do I want to get people together for a first week of their paleo reset? Do I want to give 40 lucky individuals a chance to unplug in a gorgeous location and listen to Chris Kresser speak and answer their questions? Do I want to make the first week of meal prep easy (non-existent) for the attendees, do I want people to be able to meet one-on-one with one of Chris' nutritionists. YES. And I want to continue to shout from the mountaintops that you can change your life and it can be a simple few changes that can get you there. 

So join us for this incredible week. The hills should be green and lush from El Nino and we can all experience the beginnings of change together.  Sign up for Chris' newsletter or "like" his Facebook page to find out a special coupon code to get a 10% discount and sign up by December 1st on The Healing Farm site to get into a drawing for one free pass for the week (based on double occupancy)!

The Healing Farm - Cultivating Practical Wellness

Tip by Tip, Step by Step

I've learned over the years that changing habits is hard. Not only that, but when you know you need to make changes to your health you find there's just too much information out there! So how I've learned to make it easier on myself is to let the tips and habit changes come to me in bits and pieces so it's not too overwhelming. In other words, read things, listen to people, watch videos, but don't try to memorize it all. Don't try to make it all stick. Listen passively and suddenly things that will resonate and have meaning for your personal health will start to repeat and you may even start to consider trying to make those changes.  

In my own experience, making these changes is easier if I do it slowly and over time. For example, I couldn't seem to get over my addiction to Diet Coke and no matter how I tried I felt like I needed that pick-me-up in the afternoon. I've read and heard over the years about how great green tea is for your health but had always been a coffee/Diet Coke drinker.  I've also read and heard multiple times over the years that a small square of dark chocolate can be just as satisfying (over time) than other kinds of sweets that are way less healthy for you (like a cookie) and is actually good for you (in small doses). It took a long time, but slowly I trained myself to make a cup of tea for myself in the afternoon and found a dark chocolate that I love. I am now at a point where I'm almost 100% Diet Coke free (I treat myself once in a while when I go to a place that has fountain diet coke, but it's not very often) and almost 100% sugar free just by switching my afternoon routine to a combo of green tea (I also combine my tea with other herbal teas to get more bang for my health buck) and a small piece of dark chocolate. Sometimes, if I really need it (and ladies, you know what I mean) I'll have two small squares or a square of chocolate after dinner. I never thought I would see the day when I wouldn't crave a diet coke, a cookie or a cheap candy bar, but I really don't crave those things anymore and when there's halloween candy around, I'll grab a piece and eat it and realize I don't even like it anymore. This was not a quick process. Many stops and starts along the way, but I'm finally there! 

Here are some habits I've changed/developed over time, just by keeping small tips I've heard over the years in the back of my head and slowly, I've built them in (or eliminated them) from my life!

FLOSSING

Flossing? OK. I know this is a no-brainer for most people (or maybe non-flossing is more pervasive than I think it is), but I grew up in the Midwest in the 1970s in a family with six kids. Although I heard a million times from my dentist and at school that I should floss my teeth everyday, my mother didn't have the time (raising six kids and teaching full time) to remind all of us to brush and floss everyday. So I brushed, but was lazy and never flossed (or flossed in fits and starts). It wasn't until several years ago (yes, fast forward about 35 years) that I read that flossing daily can actually reduce inflammation in the body. Since I happened to be learning about systemic inflammation and trying to reduce it for my own health reasons, I decided it was probably a good idea to start flossing regularly. Fits and starts? Yes. BUT, I'm at a point now where if I don't floss (usually when I'm on vacation) I have an image of the inflammation in my body returning and my chronic back pain rearing its ugly head! That's enough for me to get back to my flossing routine!!! So let's be honest. Are you flossing every day?

TEA + CHOCOLATE = AFTERNOON PICK-ME-UP!

So I went over a little about my transition to afternoon green tea and chocolate, but thought I would give a tiny bit more detail. I do mix my green tea with various other herbal teas to get the most bang for my health buck. Some tea drinkers might recoil at the thought, but since I'm not a huge fan of the way green tea tastes anyway, I like to mix it adding in whatever my body seems to be calling for. Most of the time I'm trying to keep inflammation down and my tummy healthy so I use ginger tea, but for the past couple of weeks I've been using Echinacea Immune Support because my body is in the process of healing a major first degree burn. Often I feel like I need a brain boost mid-afternoon, so I throw in some Ginkgo Clarity or if I feel like my mood needs a lift, I might throw in Sweet Tangerine Positive Energy. As far as brands of tea, since I drink green tea every day and it can get expensive, I use Trader Joe's Organic Green Tea to keep the expense down, but I like supplementing with the Yogi tea brand not only because it's at my little local market but I trust the brand and even though I'm not really into daily affirmations, I do kind of like reading their tea bag tab affirmations. It usually makes me smile or take the time to contemplate life and adds a little lift to my little afternoon break. Here was today's tab:

NEW YORK TIMES SCIENTIFIC SEVEN MINUTE WORKOUT

OK. I'm always hawking this workout, but seriously. It's the EASIEST way to build a sustainable workout into your every day routine. Seriously. It's only seven minutes and works every part of your body. Excellent for maintenance - not for weight loss unless you are also reducing calories. What's nice about this if you ARE trying to reduce calories is that it won't wear you out and make your body want to consume MORE calories like a major workout would. Read about why this workout WORKS on the New York Times blog.

MAKE STOCK OR BONE BROTH AND DRINK/EAT IT OFTEN

Chris Kresser's "Paleo Recipe Generator" recipe for roasted chicken stock has not only made making chicken stock regularly so much easier, but also much more tasty than the way I used to make it (cooking the whole chicken in water!). Read my Cook-a-thon post for ideas for making and eating your chicken stock, but just today I ate such a healing and comforting lunch using the leftover chicken and stock from my (mostly) weekly chicken stock making. So simple and given I'm trying to heal my skin from the recent burn, this felt so good and healing for my body and so simple to throw together when you have it all in the fridge already:

Healthy bowl of chicken soup: 

Simply warm up your stock with a little salt and pepper, cut up some of the leftover chicken and thrown it in there and add any veggies you've got floating around in the fridge. Today I added cremini mushrooms and baby kale.

KEEP IT SIMPLE AND COLORFUL!

I'm so looking forward to the springtime "Paleo Reset" retreat featuring Chris Kresser's "Paleo Cure" book and a whole week of eating delicious and healthy food! I'm sure we'll walk away with TONS of practical eating tips we can build into our everyday lives.

USING OIL ON YOUR SKIN EVERYDAY INSTEAD OF LOTIONS

At the recent retreat held by The Healing Farm and Marin Agricultural Land Trust I asked my speakers/practitioners for some little health tips we could send home with our participants. Of course I mentioned my dark chocolate habit and actually sent everyone home with a bar, but Patti Cocciolo of The Goodness blog who did our end of the day all-level yoga session mentioned she uses organic body oil on her skin after her shower instead of synthetic or heavy body lotion. As she put it, anything that's on your skin more than 20 minutes is absorbed into your skin and bloodstream. Good reason not to put chemicals, perfumes and anything non-organic on your body. All I had to do was read this once and make a change. I realized I had some organic mineral oil at home and have been using that ever since. Also, since I've burned my skin and have been applying vitamin E directly to the burn areas it's been REALLY top of mind how important and large this body organ is and how incredibly important it is to the whole body to keep it healthy!

CULTIVATING PRACTICAL WELLNESS!

These are just a few of the little tips and changes I've incorporated over the years into my own health routine. Super simple and small changes that have really added up to improving my overall health. I'm sure I will think of More and will post updates for more Tip by Tip and Step by Step recommendations! Remember to simply read ideas and tips and like the body oil, you will slowly absorb some of these tips into your own routine if it make sense for you and your own health!

Yoga And Wellness On The Ranch - A Lovely Time Had By All!

Yoga session at the end of the day with Patti Cocciolo of the Goodness blog

Wow! What a day we had on Sunday at the first ever Marin Agricultural Land Trust/Healing Farm joint retreat at Stemple Creek Ranch! I was so thrilled that the event sold out and we had forty people join us for a day of relaxing and learning about how our bodies connect to this incredible agricultural land.

Thank you to our participants for taking the time to spend a day at the ranch learning practical solutions for your every day health! Also to Loren and Lisa Pocia for hosting us on your gorgeous land. Overall, Loren's talk about the history of the ranch and carbon farming was a highlight for everyone. Thank you also to Stacy Lauer for the wonderful organic food, MALT for partnering with THF to put this incredible retreat on, Jennifer Cooper for your nutrition talk and movement class and Patti Cocciolo of The Goodness blog for ending our day with such a relaxing all-level yoga session and to our surprise guest, Jay Holecek  (dubbed "the chocolate cowboy") for our afternoon dark chocolate tasting.

I could go on and on in words, but since I'm also a photographer want to show you more in pictures:

Early morning at Stemple Creek

Check in and welcome.....

Loren teaching us about the soil

More with Loren....

Therapeutic movement with Jennifer Cooper....

Picnic on the hill!

After lunch loveliness....

Jennifer's nutrition talk....

During the afternoon break, therapeutic chef Jay Holcek dubbed "the chocolate cowboy" by me and my hubby joined us for a little dark chocolate tasting. Guests also enjoyed time to loll in the sunshine. I especially loved the ladies knitting and lying down on a hay bale while chatting. A perfect image from the day:

and to end the day, yoga in the barn (too warm on the deck!) with Patti Cocciolo...

Another Bay Area Affordable Gem

Piedmont Springs - Oakland, CA

Starting a business, running a current business and in the midst of a family crisis. I was coming out of a very traumatic week and the businesses kept demanding and demanding - as they always do. The clock just keeps on ticking, doesn't it? 

Keeping up with my daily routine of coffee, news and e-mail in bed, my NYT Seven Minute Scientific Workout followed by stretches, hot shower and daily smoothie really helps keep me in control, (mostly) stress-free and refreshed, but sometimes I need to take a step back and realize I need a little more downtime to get me back in a calm state of mind. 

Yesterday I was intuitive enough to realize this was one of those times, but how many of us can really afford to go to a spa or local hotel to luxuriate in a hot tub, steam and sauna and then get a really worthwhile and long massage? Believe it or not, there really are some affordable options out there!

A few months ago, I posted about the super affordable (and lovely) Kabuki Springs and Spa in SF, but this time I didn't even have time to go into SF and needed to stick with Oakland. In comes Piedmont Springs. Just a couple of blocks from my house (lucky me!) I was able to make a same-day appointment. They have hot tubs for rent (yes! You get your own!), sauna and steam rooms and various options like massage and body treatments. I booked the minimum hot tub rental of half an hour which was meant to pre-relax my truly tight muscles, followed by a 75 minute massage (going more than an hour I think is essential. Would have done 90 minutes if it were available). All for under $100.00 less tip. Now THAT is a deal. Brennan picked me up, we went to dinner out on the Avenue and then went home to listen to music together. Today I am refreshed, relaxed and energized. Something I really didn't think was possible at this time in my life - especially this week!

The Healing Farm - Cultivating Practical Wellness

Cavallo Point Complimentary Wellness Lectures

My friend Jennifer Cooper will be our speaker and one of the wellness practitioners at the "Wellness and Yoga on the Ranch" Retreat with MALT October 25th. She asked me recently if I wanted to join her for a wellness lecture at Cavallo Point. I was unaware that Cavallo Point offers "Tuesdays to your Health"; a complimentary wellness lecture series the second Tuesday of every month with their resident integrative medicine practitioner, Dr. Brad Jacobs, MD. Informative and friendly Dr. Brad leads you through a lecture on a wellness topic in laymen's terms, offers advice on alternative solutions to whatever topic he's covering and ends with a Q&A. What a terrific deal! 

On the Tuesday we went to Dr. Brad's lecture, the weather was gorgeous so we met early and had a glass of wine on the porch of the bar/restaurant, then wandered over to the spa and sat in the lovely common area of the spa listening to Dr. Brad. The wall of windows was open and the birds were chirping outside. It was the beginning of the allergy season so the topic was on allergies. Dr. Brad offered advice on where you can go online to find out what the allergy "forecast" is, homeopathic remedies for allergy relief and good practical advice on what you can do around your home to help prevent allergic reactions in the first place. Super worthwhile and informative and certainly an inexpensive way to visit this lovely resort and spa and if you can swing it, why not get a spa treatment while you're there!

Cavallo Point Spa