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Healing Trauma Through the Vagus Nerve: The Polyvagal Theory, the Nervous System, and Essential Oils
The Popular Tenth Cranial Nerve The tenth cranial nerve, the vagus nerve, has recently gotten a lot of attention. This is for a very good reason. Having an optimally functioning vagus nerve is vital for many critical functions in the body. It directly influences the heart, digestion, brain, and lungs. This “vagrant”, or [...]
What is the Vagus Nerve and Why is it So Popular in the Wellness Space?
The Importance of the Vagus Nerve for Nervous System Balance and Optimizing Physical and Psychological Health The tenth cranial nerve, the vagus nerve, has gotten a lot of attention recently. This is for good reason. Having an optimally functioning vagus nerve is vital for balancing many critical functions in the body. In this [...]
An Essential Oils Revolution: The Aromatic Transformation of Health Fears into Mind-Body Freedom
Has Health Information Hijacked Your Amygdala? Most everyone has had the unpleasant experience of surfing through the online abyss of “Doctor Google.” Even if you didn’t have health anxiety to begin with, combine a rudimentary compilation of innocent bodily gurgles and aches with a few minutes of skimming through health blogs, and you [...]
Essential Oils and the Microbiome
How Microbes Shape Our Health Since the discovery of microorganisms in the 19th century, scientists and physicians have been obsessed with germs. With the eerie belief that infectious agents caused diseases, one of the major goals of medicine was to kill these detrimental critters. Our weapons included inoculations, antiseptics, chemotherapeutics, and antibiotics. Our [...]
Lavender Oil: The Go-To Essential Oil that Soothes the Brain, Lowers Anxious Symptoms, Calms Stress, Decreases Head Discomfort… and More!
Everyone gets physical and mental “hiccups” at times. Thankfully, we don’t have to be afraid of every ache, pain, and emotional swing. Our body and mind are designed to maintain balance when we take good care of ourselves. It is when symptoms are consistent and troublesome that we should seek to decode them more [...]
Enjoying the Health and Mood Benefits of Sunshine with Natural Protection from its Harmful Ultraviolet Rays
The Benefits and Dangers of the Sun For those in the Northeast, summertime is in full swing. It signifies warmth (at last!), longer daylight hours, and increased time in nature. Along with the mood uplifting boost gained from more leisure time outdoors, sunshine has various other wellness advantages. However, there’s downsides too. Excess [...]
Peppermint Oil: A Powerful Ally for Digestive Health, Brain Support, Head Discomfort, and Much More
Essential Oils: More Than Just Symptom Relief Consistent headaches, although likely not a serious signal of pathology, could be an early sign of greater physiological imbalances. In the long-run, if these are not addressed, they could increase your chance of health problems. In my series on headaches, I provided an overview of their [...]
My Aching Head! Naturopathic, Functional, and Mind-Body Medicine to Soothe Headaches
Ouch, My Head Hurts! Headaches are an all-too-common pain in the face and head that a majority of the population, 96%, experience in their lifetime. In my previous post and video, I reviewed all the main points about headaches. Topics covered included: Classifications of headaches (primary and secondary) Common types of headaches (tension, [...]
When Your Head Hurts: Headache Causes, Common Types, Red Flags That They are Serious, and Naturopathic and Functional Medicine Tests to Help Find the Cause
What is a Headache? Headaches. Yuck! Although they are often not cause for major concern, no one likes having them. They can be a real annoyance, impacting quality of life and productivity. It’s estimated that 96% of the population have had the unpleasant experience of having a headache. Appropriately named, pain in your [...]