Lauren

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! It’s that time of year! There may not be snow (yet!) but plenty of cold weather to remind us that winter is just right around the corner. December 21st marks the winter solstice, the longest night/ darkest day of the whole year. After this we will begin moving in the opposite direction, with days becoming longer, and the sun setting later. Winter is a time to slow down and focus on self-care, to spend more time being quiet and resting, and less time running around pushing yourself to the max. As the most yin season, winter offers us a natural space for reflection and rejuvenation if we choose to take the opportunity.

I hope this finds you well and enjoying the first month of fall. As days become shorter and the weather changes, we can stay aligned with nature by using this time to get some extra rest and simply trying to do less in our every day lives. While I have been recommending my patients to sleep a little more lately, coincidentally I’ve found many of them complaining of sleep issues. Do you have trouble falling or staying asleep? A study from June of this year shows that a whoping 83% of Americans have trouble sleeping, and the CDC has found that 1 in 25 people resort to taking prescription sleeping pills. We’re not sleeping well, that’s for sure.

The summer is flying by! Wherever your summer may be taking you, I hope you are enjoying every minute of it. With one month left and vacations or weekend getaways still on the horizon, I decided to dedicate this issue of Malibu Acupuncture & Herbs Online to travel. It doesn’t take much to be health conscious while traveling, and the benefits have a huge pay off. Check out Travel Well:6 Tips For a Healthy Journey for ideas on how to prepare and support yourself and your travel companions while traveling. And don’t miss one of my favorite travel recipes, No Bake Granola Bars.

Summer is almost here! Even amidst the June gloom, the excitement of summer is totally palpable. You can feel it in the air. Whether it’s vacations, weekend getaways or just a more relaxed frame of mind, there is something so special about summer. Summertime evokes an energy of festivity, celebration, and plain old fun. Stress seems be lighter, or at least miraculously more manageable during this time of year. Things that might build up or bother us seem to more easily roll off our shoulders. I have been thinking about the subject of stress a lot lately. Nearly all of my patients have symptoms that are worse with stress, if not caused by stress directly. It is so worth understanding how stress works and what we can do to mitigate its negative effects. In this issue of Malibu Acupuncture & Herbs check out Exploring Stress, Cultivating Peace. Part 1 of this three part article focuses on the essentials of stress. In future issues we will discuss developing body/mind intelligence and other keys for stress management.

I hope your spring is off to a fantastic start. I’ve been completely in awe over the yellow, white and purple wildflowers exploding all over this paradise we call Malibu. Spring is such a precious time of year. Next Monday, April 22nd marks Earth Day. While we sometimes get caught up in our busy lives and forget all the gifts of Mother Earth, Earth Day is a designated time to celebrate and renew our commitment to being as eco-friendly and earth conscious as possible. In celebration of Earth Day, I’m introducing my new fave, up and coming eco-friendly designer Carrie Parry. With elegant fabrics, bold prints and beautifully fitting clothes you’ll never even notice this designer is both environmentally and socially responsible.