Healing and greening...

I love writing and I love contests so here it goes. Just found this site today when I received The Tyee by email. I'm all about community and change so I'm blogging for the first time, but feeling a bit apprehensive that this is going to be available on the internet forever????

The Resolution: To help my patients heal themselves while caring for the planet and their community; and to promote ideas from my Otesha trip (Sept - Oct 2005 - www.otesha.ca). And to build my practice by becoming a part of my community, lead by example.

I'm a Naturopathic Doctor(ND) and a Doula. As an ND I see patients who are looking for ways to treat the cause of their disease. Using botanical medicine, vitamins and minerals, acupuncture, craniosacral therapy, bowen therapy, nutrition, hydrotherapy and lifestyle counselling I help people make positive changes in their lives. As a Doula I assist women and their partners during labour and ensure that new families get help with breastfeeding and infant care. Healthy habits are best started right from birth and can prevent illness and disease later in life.

My practice in Edgemont Village opened in November 2006 and I'm looking to build up new patients and to change my community through education about healthy lifestyle habits. My goal is to let all female patients know about the diva cup - if only a few patients made the switch from tampons and pads to the reusable silicone cup we could cut back on thousands of pounds of garbage. Not to mention cutting back on the dioxins and chlorine needed in the bleaching process for single-use tampons and pads. That's saving waterways, landfills and pocketbooks. I also want to let people know about plants in their homes - how spider and snake plants can clean the air of formaldehyde and other household toxins. In our efforts to keep an airtight, heat-efficient house, we are also keeping in gases from paints and carpets and household chemicals. I also want to talk about: composting, eating organic fruits and veggies, using recycled paper and toilet paper, planting trees, volunteering, supporting local businesses, walking to work, biking to work, bussing to work, hiking, giving blood, using grey water, buying rechargable batteries, bookclubs, yoga, running, gourmet groups and more.

Okay, there, I'm trying to change everything!