ing that self-love and self-care for the body and mind are the foundation for healthy relationships with others. Many of the stories that Barrow hears in her office are the result of poor lifestyle choices compounded over a lifetime, as well as negative self-talk that plays on a continual loop in the mind. “Negative and positive thoughts affect brain chemistry,” explains the compassionate Barrow, who guides her patients down memory lane to child- hood days when they lived in a state of exuberance and well-being. “This is where we find the authentic, happy and exuberant person we wanted to be before our environment impressed upon us the idea that we only deserved happiness if we were willing to be a workhorse,” sighs Barrow. “Take heart, this authentic self, which can help re- cover joy and happiness, is easy to find again.”
Sheri Clary,
MPA, PA-C
Goal-oriented and eager to get to the root cause of any health challenge, Sheri Clary light- ens the 90-minute experience of
capturing a woman’s health history by listening to her concerns and learning about their health goals. “I make our time together feel like lunch with a BFF [best friend forever],” jokes Clary, who orders laboratory tests to assess a woman’s biophysical health status. In a follow-up appointment, Clary reviews test results and makes recommenda- tions for nutrition, exercise, bio-iden- tical hormone balancing and other mind-body treatments.
How her patients feel and function is the most significant measure of suc- cess, so Clary doesn’t hesitate to offer BFF advice: Stop and smell your roses and make time to renew. “Pleasurable moments have cumulative results and make a big difference in how the body handles stress, sickness and disease,” advises Clary. “Never deplete your ad- renals, because that sets the stage for a compromised immune system, insulin resistance, hypertension and metabolic syndrome.”
With her passion for turning wom- en around so that their mirror reflects bright eyes, beautiful skin and healthy hair, Clary is concerned about the age shift in her patients. “In the past, the women I’ve treated for hormonal prob- lems were 45 to 55. Now, I’m seeing 16- and 17-year-olds who are so stressed that they have PMS and uterine bleeding,” says Clary. “And I’m treating 37-year-old women who are pre-menopausal.”
Grace Barr,
BA, LMT
Women with
chronic fatigue syn- drome and fibro- myalgia appreciate the compassionate listening skills of Grace Barr, BA,
licensed massage therapist and integra- tive life guide. Well acquainted with the stories that women tell about the pain they experience, Barr observes, “Often, the stories are more devastat- ing than what is actually happening in the body. As soon as women get out of their stories and bring awareness to the pain in their body, they open them- selves to direct experience and begin the journey into acceptance, relaxing into what is. Then, they aren’t fighting, resisting or creating mind chatter.” Barr finds that many stress-induced behaviors leading to hormonal imbal- ances and health problems are acted out unconsciously. “It’s necessary to become aware of unconscious behavior patterns and know them intimately,” she advises, explaining that awareness leads to the seat of the problem, where underlying beliefs can be evaluated. From here, an individual can determine if past behaviors and beliefs, imprinted in childhood by their original caretak- ers, extended family and religious and educational systems, serve or under- mine the present.
To demonstrate the importance of responding to life from an awakened state of self-awareness, rather than unconscious habitual behavior, Barr borrows from the philosophy of well- known psychologists Carl Jung and Roberto Assagioli, who believed that an individual’s behavior can pres-
ent itself as pathological, due to lack of awareness of their core self. “As a multi-leveled being, I encourage my patients to consider all of their dimen- sions: physical, psychological and transpersonal/spiritual. This approach helps them tune out their mind chatter about the past or future and view and respond to present circumstances from an awakened, or conscious, state,” says Barr. Emphasizing that this state is the only place from which it is possible to activate the will to want to change and choose new responses, Barr adds, “When a patient becomes aware that they are multi-dimensional and that there is an infinitely wise spiritual aspect that wants to help and instruct them, they move beyond their physical and emotional problems.”
Women who cultivate an authentic self, healthy diet and other lifestyle changes; balance their hormones; and live with moment-to-moment awareness, can count on slaying their stress dragon and becoming their own heroine. When the voice of inner wisdom speaks with more audible clarity and encourages an increase in pleasurable moments, plan on heeding the call.
Contact Deborah Post at Perlmutter Health Center, 800 Goodlette Road North, Ste. 270, in Naples or call 239- 649-7400 or 239-481-5600. Visit Perl- Health.com. Post is currently relocating to 19595 Tamiami Trail, Suite 108, in Estero, but will continue to see clients at the Perlmutter Center through the end of June. See ad, page 11.
Contact Molly Barrow at 239-263- 3908. Visit DrMollyBarrow.com and DrMollyBarrowBlogSpot.com. Twitter: Twitter.com/drmollybarrow and Barrow. progressiveradionetwork.org/.
Contact Sheri L. Clary at 5 Steps to Sheri Clary, 17595 South Tamiami Trail, Ste. 108, in Fort Myers or call 239-267- 4788. Visit 5stsc.webs.com.
Contact Grace Barr at Integrative Life Guide, 958 2nd Avenue North, in Naples or call 239-293-7711. Visit IntegrativeLifeInstitute.com.
natural awakenings
May 2010
31
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64