Each month, we bring our readers tools and information to assist them on their path to personal wellness and healthy living...naturally! We feature articles by national authors as well as from local leaders in the fields of natural, integrative and complementary health, nutrition, fitness, organics, personal growth, nature, sustainability and natural pet. Have something you'd like to read about? Contact us directly!
Walk About
Simple Steps to Well-Being
People that wear a fitness watch get a little buzz on the wrist as a reminder to get more steps in each hour, but many ignore the simple opportunity that exists to exercise upright for free anytime and anywhere...
Less Stuff, More Joy
Ways to Live Simpler and Lighter on Mother Earth
When holistic wellness coach and personal trainer Sergio Rojas saw his contract with a trucking company terminated by the pandemic, he and his wife Krista turned it into an opportunity to step away from a life of too much stuff and over-scheduled activities...
Healthy Breast Basics
Lifestyle Choices to Lower Disease Risks
One in eight women in the United States develops breast cancer in the course of her lifetime. “Notably, only five to 10 percent can be blamed on inherited gene mutations, and merely 13 percent of women with breast cancer have a first-degree relative with a history of disease...
Fall Fruits for Savory Dishes
fresh approaches to autumn flavors
Move over, summer berries and stone fruits—'tis the season for a cornucopia of fall fruits, including crunchy apples, chewy figs and tart pomegranates. By taking a page from the playbooks of orchard chefs, home cooks can flex the unique flavors and health powers of these autumn delights with...
Yoga to Heal Trauma
Soothing Poses Calm the Nervous System
Getting on the yoga mat can be a powerful stress-buster that lowers blood pressure and excessive cortisol, but yoga can offer an added boon for those living with the lasting effects of traumatic events. Trauma-informed yoga (also called trauma-sensitive yoga) is a promising therapeutic branch of...
Conquering Chronic Pain
How the Body-Mind Connection Works
For three decades, David Hanscom was a top-ranked orthopedic surgeon in Seattle who daily put the scalpel to injured, deformed and twisted spines. Privately, he writhed in pain himself. He was beset over 15 years with...
Foraged Fungi Fare
Cooking with Wild Mushrooms
Wild mushrooms can infuse exciting new flavors and textures into familiar dishes, along with a taste of the local terroir, the natural habitat, from woods to plate...
Art's Embrace
Healing Through Creativity
Art can be a powerful force for healing. Its potential manifests in a disabled man’s triumphant dance or cancer patient’s stirring self-portrait. Throughout America, art’s redemption takes center stage at hospitals, nursing homes, jails and homeless shelters. Even an entire city can be transformed when...
Horses as Healers
Equine Therapy has Physical and Emotional Benefits
Horses are being increasingly used to help people work through emotional and physical challenges, and for good reason: Numerous studies have shown that equine-assisted therapy helps with anger, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and dissociative or other...
The Power of the Written Note
Birthdays, weddings, holidays and other momentous occasions have long been celebrated with cards and letters. The rise of emailing, texting and social media has made writing letters a forgotten treasure as many of us have instead come to...
Healthy Cookware
How to Choose Non-Toxic Pots and Pans
Organic and locally sourced foods are eco-friendly and contribute to better health, a greener world and thriving communities. However, once the food is cooked, it may no longer be...
Shedding Light on Lightbulbs
Don’t be left in the dark when choosing lightbulbs. Lighting accounts for up to 20 percent of a household’s energy bill, and untold numbers of bulbs end up in landfills. Let’s illuminate some bulb options to increase savings and...
Creative Kids
How to Nurture Imagination
Young children are naturally curious and inventive, yet research shows that their creative thinking skills peak at around age 6 and start to decline once they start formal schooling—a trend that’s...
Preserving the Harvest
Classic Ways to Store Garden Bounty All Year
Whether gardening, purchasing at farmers’ markets or ordering from a community supported agriculture farm, preservation techniques capture the bounty of the harvest and ensure availability of fresh flavors year-round...
Upsetting Your Natural Balance
How Medications Can Impact Your Digestive Health
While all medications are created to perform a specific function, they can also have moderate to severe side effects, which can vary depending on how they are taken; the interaction with other medications, foods or supplements; the general health of the patient; the state of a patient's illness or disease; age; weight or even as...
Pollinator-Friendly Yards
Gardening for Wildlife with Native Plants
For some people, perfectly mowed lawns without a trace of a weed or an insect makes them proud, but they may not realize that this method of gardening and landscaping could be harming the local ecosystem and the important pollinators that we rely on to keep...
Water Sports for a Total Body Workout
Cool Ways to Stay Fit this Summer
Whether it’s adrenaline-fueled kiteboarding or peaceful paddle boarding, getting active in the water helps to improve bone density, elevates mood and engages major muscle groups without stressing the joints. The highlight of a vacation might be rafting down a river, surfing at sunset or waterskiing on a mountain lake. Whether done regularly or occasionally, water sports offer...