Laura Koniver, MD's Blog, page 17

Why Your Pet Loves Your Grounding Mat (+ The Health Benefits Of Having A Pet)

 

 

Does your pet fear thunderstorms or fireworks or other loud noises?

Does your pet ever feel anxious or show signs of nervous energy?  You know, excessive licking, panting, barking, pacing, trembling?

You might want to get them grounded.  A huge thank you to Scott Nixon, in Oldsmar, Florida, who noticed that his dog is fearful during thunderstorms, and found this article:

Why Are Dogs Afraid Of Thunderstorms?

In the article, chief scientific officer at the Center for Canine Behavior Studies Nick Dodman suggests that static build up that occurs in your pet’s coat of hair, and the resultant shocks they get from the static build up is one reason they get increased anxiety during storms.

The solution?  Get your pet grounded, safely, through an indoor grounding tool that has a resistor to prevent any electrical surge from traveling up the line, should there be a nearby lightening strike.  This eliminates the static build up on your pet and prevents them from getting shocked.

 

 

Scott put the theory to the test with his elderly shitzu Gryphon, to decrease his pet’s anxiety during the frequent Florida thunderstorms.  Here is what he and his wife had to say about the results:

“We set Gryphon on a grounding mat, and it was like magic!  We’ve noticed a great reduction in Gryphon’s trembling.  When a storm approaches, Scott sets up his grounding mat on a towel to provide some cushion on the tile floor.  When Gryphon leaves the mat, his trembling is severe, and when he goes back on the mat, his trembling is almost unnoticeable.”

This is the organic grounding mat that Gryphon uses.

I’ve gotten other emails over the years showing pets enjoying my organic, all natural grounding tools.  Grounding isn’t just for treating anxiety, it is for promoting wellness too!

Here are two of the cutest pups getting grounded that I’ve seen in a while: Olivia & Ever!

Here they are laying across the organic grounding bed rolls:

 

 

And here they are enjoying the organic grounding mats:

 

 

 

It’s not just dogs, either!

Audrey Walker sent in an adorable picture of her cutie, Milton.  Here is Milton hogging his organic grounding mat from his human mom:

 

 

 

Not only is grounding comforting to your pet, but when they are grounded you can actually get grounded too, just by petting them!  Heck yes — kiss my pup and get grounded?  Win-Win!

Not only will you get grounded petting them while they are on a grounding mat, but you can get grounded through them directly outside, too!  That means you can keep your shoes comfortably on and just reach down and touch your pet and you will be as grounded as if you were standing barefoot directly on the earth.

In this video I show myself getting grounded (and I verify this for you with a grounding test meter) through my beloved dog who passed away almost a year ago (gulp.)  I still painfully miss her.  In this video I demonstrate the areas that are best to pet if you want to be sure you are grounded through your beloved fur baby:

 

 

Not only do we love our pets and want them to feel their best, but having a bond with a pet has been shown to improve our health as well.  From childhood throughout our entire adult life and elderly years, owning a pet gives us a a significant health boost that lasts a lifetime.

Here’s what the medical literature has to say about why caring for an animal just might be one of the best things you can do to protect your health over a lifetime.

 

 

1. Childhood:

 

You’ve probably heard that exposure to dirt in childhood is an essential part of boosting immunity and decreasing future allergies… but did you know the same is true for animals?

Early exposure to dogs and farm animals (during the first year of life) statistically significantly decreased the development of asthma in children 5+ years later. Published on November 2, 2015 in JAMA Pediatrics, researchers found that exposure to animals decreases future development of asthma, a very important finding because the worldwide incidence of childhood asthma is steadily increasing.

Looking at data from over 1 million children born in Sweden from 2001 to 2010, researchers followed children from birth through the first decade of life, tracking their early childhood exposure (or non-exposure) to dogs and farm animals as well as their subsequent asthma diagnosis and treatment.

They found that having a dog as a pet during the first year of childhood reduced the incidence of asthma diagnosis by 10% by the time the children were 3 years old and up to 13% by 7 years old.

They also found that living on a farm went even further… decreasing the childhood rate of asthma by the time the children were 7 years old by over 52%!

 

Living on a farm with animals in early childhood (as opposed to simply visiting a farm but not owning any of your own animals) slashed the rate of asthma more than in half.  And another study showed that children who lived in homes with pets had less colds and ear infections during their first year of life than children from pet-free households.

This is important information for parents to be aware of, so that they can understand the appropriateness of having their children around animals and pets and that the timing of this is important — during the first year of life.

And well beyond the medicinal benefits of animal exposure in early childhood, having pets:

gives children a very healthy exposure to unconditional loveprovides stability and continuity during times of unavoidable stress in the child’s life (such as during a move to a new home, entering a new school, or a change in the family dynamics such as a death or divorce)and gives a framework to talk about holistic and important topics such as death (as inevitably pets have a shorter life span than humans and often the death of a pet is a very healthy introduction to speaking about death before it pertains to a human family member, such as the loss of a grandparent.)

 

 

Loving and caring for a special pet is a priceless, priceless gift during childhood.  My kids saw baby guinea pigs and rabbits being born, nurtured just-hatched baby chicks, held special pets as they grew old and died in their arms, hand bottle fed a baby cockatiel, took puppies out on long walks and so much more.

I have found that not only are animals good for the body from a medical perspective by decreasing asthmatic responses and infections in the body during childhood, but also getting children up, outdoors, and active. Sitting for extended periods of time (like in a school setting!) is unfortunately the worst thing you can do for your body… so having a pet that gets children up and active, such as walking a dog daily, is one of the best things you can do to encourage a long healthy life habit in your child.

Prolonged sitting has a profoundly negative impact on cancer risk, sleep quality, and diabetes risk over a lifetime.  And this is not only true for children, but adults as well. Let’s take a look:

 

[image error]2. Adulthood:

 

Walking a dog every day is so healing, so healthy, that it is as effective in cancer recovery program!  Published on Jan 13, 2013 in the Journal Of Clinical Oncology, researchers followed 2,300 colorectal cancer patients and measured their activity level before and after cancer diagnosis.  They found that the more active the patients were, the better their long-term outcome. 

Even patients that were doing no physical activity prior to diagnosis… if they began increasing their activity level after diagnosis and during recovery, their outcomes were improved as well.  Active colorectal cancer patients had a 0.58 risk reduction — this is a decrease in mortality rates by over half!

These results suggest that being active has an impact on cancer prognosis similar to some forms of chemotherapy.  How active do you need to be to show the protective and healing benefits? Turns out, not very active. It is way more important to just be up and walking around, to decrease sedentary time, then it is to exercise strenuously. 

The amount of activity that triggered this protective benefit was only the equivalent of 20 minutes of walking a day.

 

 

Pets are the perfect motivator.

Just the equivalent of walking for 20 minutes each day, or about 150 minutes of walking a week, made all the difference in the world — literally saving lives and modifying mortality rates significantly.

Recently released in 2015 at the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, the first meta-analysis looking at the effects of walking on sleep in cancer patients revealed that walking improved sleep in all different types of cancers studied.  Sleep disorders are very common during cancer treatment and recovery with many patients reporting daily sleep disturbances which in turn affect physical function, healing, mood, energy levels, and quality of life.  Although it is well know that exercise has been shown to improve sleep due to boosted immune response, core body temperature regulation, autonomic function, enhanced endocrine function, and mood, these parameters have never before been studied on such a wide scale specifically in cancer patients before.

Looking at 9 different randomized, controlled trials, walking was found to improve sleep equally in all different types of cancers followed in the study (including breast cancer.) And, important to note, walking significantly helped sleep no matter what stage of cancer the participants were in and the positive effect did not differ among early vs. late stage cancers.

With walking being such an accessible, low cost, and holistic approach for supporting better sleep in cancer patients, walking should be part of the healing Rx for any cancer patient wishing to optimize their time spent in restorative, healing sleep.  All it takes, to improve cancer outcome (and decrease your cardiovascular and diabetic risk too, as we will talk about next) is to simply decrease the amount of time you spend sitting and increase the amount of time you spend walking. And that’s where a beloved pet or farm animal comes in. Turns out adopting a dog and taking it on a few short walks a day is a fabulous part of a cancer treatment plan..

The same is true for diabetes prevention.

Published on February 2016 in Diabetologia, researchers looked at whether sedentary time, breaks in sedentary time, and/or total physical activity was associated with cardiometabolic risk factors in 878 participants. The results showed length of time spent sedentary actually had the biggest impact on blood glucose levels. Revealing that time spent in sedentary behavior (sitting or lying down) actually impacts your diabetes risk more than moderate to vigorous physical activity does.

The bottom line? Time spent sedentary is the biggest risk factor of cardiometabolic health we know of.

So folks who are at high risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular events or metabolic syndrome should have a goal of being up and about more throughout the day… instead of sitting all day long in a chair and then exercising one time that day.  See the shift?  Folks who knock out an exercise routine and then spend time totally sedentary in between trips to the gym are at higher risk for cardiometabolic disease than folks who are simply more active throughout the day.

 

 

That’s why being a caretaker for a pet is more healthy than any gym membership on earth.  Simply having fun in your body and moving it in a way that brings you joy is more important then any exercise program out there!

That makes things like walking your dog… tending to a garden or farm… collecting eggs from your chicken coop… and other activities that you may not *count* as important as exercise… actually more important than structured exercise!  Having pets and farm animals encourages an entire lifetsyle shift that is more active over all, instead of simply adding in an exercise routine.  And more active over a lifetime = a longer lifespan.

Yet another study came out showing that prolonged sitting each day is associated with an increased risk of death from all causes including: cancer, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. And important to note: exercising did not protect against this risk or prolong life… even those who exercised strenuously had a higher risk of death if there were prolonged periods of sitting in between work outs. That’s because it only takes 6 hours of sitting still to significantly decrease the effective blood flow through your arms and legs. Turns out, sitting at work (or at school) raises your mortality risk no matter how hard you exercise before or afterwards.

All in all, researchers have shown that a sedentary lifestyle contributes to at least 35 different chronic diseases and counting, from diabetes, osteoporosis, breast cancer, prostate cancer, heart disease, depression, back pain… even erectile dysfunction!  A great overview study on this was published June 28, 2018 in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Another study showed that inactivity is more deadly than obesity.

So sustainable health is not about weight, it’s not about working out, it’s not about exercising, it’s not about dieting, it’s not about being a weekend warrior, it’s not about how hard you push yourself on the treadmill, and it’s not about fitting into any Body Mass Index category.

 

 

Real sustainanble health isn’t about a measurement, a weight, a percentage, an exercise program.

Real health is about enjoying the body you are in.  That’s the point of optimizing your health in the first place!  I would rather you simply enjoy play time with a pet daily over pushing your body to the limit in an exercise routine you don’t enjoy three times a week.

Over a lifetime, daily activity this makes a bigger difference to your long-term wellness. And as you will see next, elderly folks who own a pet enjoy a more active and healthy lifestyle than those who do not.

That’s because health is about moving your body. Health is about flow. Health is about feeling the joy of using your body to complete the activities you’d like to do each day. Health is about zoning out less (in front of the TV, the phone, the computer, the gaming system) and about appreciating the body you are in more.

 

 

3. Seniors

 

Medical studies have now shown that pets increase your heart health, actually giving a survival advantage when recovering from heart attack!  One study followed 240 couples and found that those who lived with pets (even on top of the fact that these were couples who lived together with their human partner!) had lower blood pressure, decrease heart rate, and maintained this more relaxed heart healthy state even when undergoing stressful medical proceedures, plus they had quicker recovery after stressful events.

This is an added benefit from owning a pet, on top of simply having human companionship, which means pets confir additional health benefits over living with a partner or spouse.

Another medical study that followed 421 adults with severe cardiac disease for an entire year after heart attack found that there was a significant surivaval advantage in patients who owned a pet, no matter how severe the initial heart attack was!  Pets increased owner lifespan following even the most severe heart attacks.

 

Owning pets also help to stabilize mood, as interacting with a pet increases serotonin and dopamine in the brain (decreasing depression and anxiety) as well as providing theraputic touch… something that anyone at any age can benefit from… childhood on up.  Another medical study of over 2,500 elders aged 71 years old and older, followed over a span of 3 years, found that those who walked dogs routinely had increased strength, increased mobility, and most importantly, increased functionality around the home, maintaining higher levels of activities of daily living (ADL) which predicts greater independence.  And yet another study, looking at adults aged 65 + showed that those who owned pets needed 30% fewer doctors appointments than thosw who did not own pets!

So… do you need a gym membership to be healthy? Nah.

Do you need to set aside structured time each day to pound out a work out? Not unless that’s what you love to do!

Do you need to force yourself to stick to a painful or intense exercise program that you hate? Nope.

To support your health from childhood (decreasing asthma and infectious disease) through adulthood (improving cancer recovery, enhancing sleep, supporting heart health, decreasing diabetes and obesity, improving mood, and extending mobility and functionality throughout an entire lifetime) is simply to get a pet and get walking.

Turns out adopting a dog and taking it on a few short walks a day is a fabulous longevity plan!

 

 

 

 

Is it just our pets that bring such value into our lives?  Or is it other animals too?  You might want to hop over here to read this blog post where I tell you all about a medical study that reveals listening to birds is just as uplifting as getting a raise!

 

Hearing Birds Sing Might Be Just As Important To You As Your Next Paycheck

 

Or if you prefer TikTok, I have a video here where I tell you about this study — join me on TikTok, I’d love to see you there!  I have dozens of short videos on grounding and other holistic healing modalities waiting for you there:

 

@laurakonivermd

Would you rather have a raise, or hear more birds singing? Shocking results of this interesting medical study. #laurakonivermd #intuitionphysician #holistichealth #birdsong #nature

♬ original sound – Laura Koniver, MD

Dr. Koniver’s TikTok Channel

 

Enjoy this empowering information, grab your favorite animal and go get grounded with it!

xoxoxo, Laura Koniver MD

The post Why Your Pet Loves Your Grounding Mat (+ The Health Benefits Of Having A Pet) appeared first on Intuition Physician.

How To Choose A Healing Path That Will Work Best For You

 

 

There are so many different treatments, techniques, supplements, prescriptions, operations, adjustments, therapies and countless other modalities that all help treat disease.  In fact, there are so many options, it can be overwhelming.

So how do you know which one to choose?

Sometimes surgery is the right choice.  Certainly the world is full of people who are alive and owe their recovery to a surgical, life saving intervention.  I am one of them, as I ignored the pain of appendicitis for so long that it ruptured, causing a massive inflammatory reaction throughout my entire abdomen, and the surgeon who saved my life said I was about 2 hours from being dead.

Sometimes a prescription is the right choice.  Certainly there are millions of people who depend on insulin or IV antibiotics or anti-seizure medications that have helped them live a normal lifespan.  I have prescribed plenty of prescriptions and used prescriptions myself, so this path, while being conventional, can be life saving.

Sometimes a chiropractic adjustment is the right choice.  I have a dear friend who credits chiropractic care to her regaining mobility and function in her spine.  Sometimes energy medicine, acupuncture, meditation, physical therapy, yoga, even sometimes doing nothing is the right choice.  We all know people who have had their entire lives transformed anew from finding that one healing modality that just works perfectly for them.

But when faced with a health crisis, when you first going completely into the unknown… how do you know what modality to choose?  If there are so many options, and you google them and get overwhelmed, or find that one could just as easily harm you as heal you… what do you choose?

 

 

 

Today I want to help you *feel* your way through making your next important health decision.

Because there is no one way to heal.

There is no one diet.

There is no one solution or Rx.

There is no one therapy.

You can eat something perfectly healthy and innocent like a blueberry, and for one person this is anti-cancer and the best thing in the world to eat, and for another with an underlying food sensitivity to blueberries, this is going to be inflammatory to their body.

One person can feel sick from EMF exposure and another can waltz through NYC’s Times Square like it is an oasis!

Some folks can align with probiotics to treat anxiety, and some align better with acupuncture and some align better with a Rx strength anxiolytic.

And no one is wrong!  There is only aligning with health.  That’s it.  There isn’t any one way to do it.  It’s just… is this taking me one step closer to Well being, or is it not?

 

 

So you need to feel your way there.  Am I stepping closer, am I not.

There is no “one size fits all” solution.  As much as any health care practitioner or therapist or physician or nutritionist or specialist wants to support you and offer you solutions, it’s up to you to choose the solution that feels right to YOU.

That’s why there are a million success stories and a million failures to any one modality.  It’s not really up to the modality… it’s up to you and how you align with that particular solution.  Nobody knows how it feels to align with a particular path other than YOU.  And you can discover that alignment through your intuition.  Your body is always speaking to you, and today I want you to take just a minute to truly listen to it.

Every single one of us gets a constant stream of information coming to us from a deep, internally knowing of what is best for us in any moment of time.  Call it a gut knowing, call it a hunch, call it a felt sense, call it your inner truth, call it your intuition… whatever you call it, you can learn how to drop your awareness out of your scattered overwhelming mind and drop into a deeper awareness that resides in your body.

Our bodies are always speaking to us about what is going on inside of us, and all we need to do is listen. I meet so many people who don’t feel that they are getting any type of guidance from their body, but they are…. we all are. Today I’m going to help you figure out where in your body you get your information and help you figure out how to use that information to navigate decision making, so that the decisions you make are in deep alignment with you. Not just aligning with your mental thoughts, on a mind level, but on a deeply rooted mind, body and soul level.

 

 

Here is how you connect to your inner guidance system:

First you figure out what part of your body speaks to you most clearly.Then you drop your awareness to that area of the body and you ask yes/no questions, to see how the body responds.And literally, that’s it!

We each have at least one intuitive center that we can lean on to get deeper knowings about our health, about how to navigate relationships, or how to develop a soul career… in fact, there is no area of life where intuitive understanding can’t support us!

Today, let me walk you through how to figure out which way that intuitive information reaches you most easily.

Let’s figure out where your awareness lives!  Here we go:

 

First, get comfortable.

 

Sit or lay down.

Take a big deep breath in, and release it slowly.

Enter a place where you are neutral and not forcing any particular outcome at all.

You are relaxing into being a receptor, just receiving.

So this means:

you do not have to create any feelingsyou don’t have to force any responseyou do not have to come up with any answersyou don’t have to picture anything in your mind

Your job is only to be an active listener and feel in your body if you get a positive response at any time while connecting to these intuitive centers.

 

Now we will run through all the different ways your body can speak to you:

 

 

 

1. Kinesthetic Intuition: A Knowing In Your Bones

 

To see if you get intuitions on a kinesthetic level, first drop your awareness all the way down your spine.

Feel the connection you have with the floor underneath of you, how it is holding you up, how it is supporting you.

Bring your awareness down to the base of your spine. If you are sitting down, then feel down your back right into the area that you are sitting on. If you are laying down, feel the lower most portion of your spine, right at the base of your glut muscles.

As you bring awareness to this portion of your body, ask yourself this:

Do you tend to get a knowing deep down in your bones?Do you make decisions based on something indescribable all the way down to your core?Do you ever use the phrase I knew it in my bones.Do you ever get a feeling of deep comfort when making a decision?Do you ever feel like sometimes your body moves itself when making decisions like you are able to just watch it play out, knowing your body automatically makes the decision for you and moves when the time is right.

If this is how you tend to know when to say *YES* to a decision, then you are likely to be a grounded, rooted kinesthetic intuitive.

To access your natural intuitive abilities, you can focus on doing a body scan when making decisions or asking intuitive questions. How your body responds: if you feel an itch, if you feel pain, if you feel your body tense up, if you feel your body relax, if you feel comfort or if you feel anxious after you ask yourself a question, a body scan is your go to tool for easily accessible intuitive information.

Follow your feelings of comfort:

 

My advice for a kinesthetic intuitive is to make a decision based on which choice provides you with a deep seated level of comfort during your body scan… that will be your most true *YES*.

 

 

 

2. Movement Based Intuition: Creative Expression

 

To find out if you get your best knowings based off of a creative movement, move your awareness up to your lower abdomen, just below your belly button.

As you bring awareness to this portion of your body, ask yourself this:

Do you tend to get intuitive information flowing to you while you are creating?Do you find that doodling, or painting, or drawing, or sewing or cooking or gardening or doing any creative hobby is when your best answers and solutions arise?Do you find that sex or focusing on physical pleasure allows creative solutions to flow more easily?Do you find that after a massage or love making that you are able to open up to creative solutions?Do you find that when you are creating music or art or working on another hobby, time stands still?Do you tend to follow your pleasure to know when to say yes to an opportunity?

If creativity or pleasure is the strongest intuitive guidepost for you, then you are also likely a kinesthetic intuitive, similar to the grounded kinesthetic above but this is a more action oriented intuitive, one that needs to be doing something physical in order to allow the intuitions free range to flow.

For these types of creative or sensual kinesthetic intuitives, it is imperative that they get body work and allow for open ended, non-goal oriented expression.

Expressing themselves without an end point (so painting freely, not because you are hired to create a painting for a customer; or writing freely, not because you are creating copy for your website, etc…) is how these kinesthetic intuitives allow the answers to rise up from within.

So, knowing this, when trying to access intuitive information these types of intuitives often get great success when asking a question and then getting active, taking a hot sensual bath, receiving a massage, doodling on a sketch pad.

Take a temperature reading:

 

My advice for a sensory kinesthetic is to ask yourself: does the decision make you feel warmer or cooler?

Visualizing a thermometer and watching how it goes up or down depending on your different choices and options, or simply feeling if your own body gets warmer or cooler in response to asking intuitive questions, can tell you everything you need to know about your best path. Going with the choice that brings you a feeling of warmth, or a deep seated feeling of pleasure, is your best *YES*.

 

 

 

 

3. Gut Intuitives: Follw Your Gut Hunches

 

To find out if a gut hunch or gut knowing is your clearest intuitive center, move your awareness up to your solar plexus. This awareness center is in your upper abdomen, between your belly button and rib cage.

As you bring your awareness to this portion of your body, ask yourself this:

Do you ever get a strong gut knowing?Do you know when to make a decision based on how it feels to you in your stomach?Do you feel a sense of freedom or empowerment when you know you have made the *right* choice?Do you get spontaneous answers and solutions best if you are exercising or totally enveloped in a task?Do you prefer to take action — any action — instead of doing nothing when facing a choice?Do you feel relief after making a decision, and would you rather make any decision than no decision at all?

If you know that you hit a home run when making a decision because you immediately feel in your gut that it’s the right call, then your type of intuition is through getting direct information into your solar plexus core.

It’s great to know if this is your intuitive type because those that receive gut knowings can work with this type of incoming information to go with their first, initial impression.

The gut response — quick, quiet, sure, immediate, direct knowledge —  is direct intuitive information. Gut intuitives should not deliberate or wait or weigh the pros and cons or over think decisions. Gut intuitives get a distinct first impression that aligns them with their inner knowings immediately. Waiting for more hits, second guessing the first gut response, letting the mind come in and overthink things, or dismissing the initial reaction and waiting for something bigger to come in can obscure intuitive information for these types.

Gut intuitives can work with their unique intuition flow by recognizing that the initial response is the most accurate, and they can carry a journal around to immediately jot down first impressions or desires, so that this direct intuitive information is not lost later on when second guessing or deliberating the decision.

Go with a feeling of expansion:

 

My advice for gut intuitive is to bring their awareness down to their solar plexus whenever faced with a decision, and feel whether there is an expansion (a yes) or a constriction (a no) in the solar plexus when asking for intuitive guidance. Making a decision based on the choice that provides you with a deep seated feeling of expansion, power, or freedom is your most accurate *YES*.

 

 

 

4. Emotional Intuitives: Heart Centered Alignment

 

To find out if your strongest intuitive center is your heart, move your awareness up to the center of your chest.

As you bring your awareness to this portion of your body, as yourself this:

Do you make most of your decisions based on emotion?Do you feel like you’ve made all of the best decisions of your life based on it’s pull on your heart?Do you feel that you can sense other peoples emotions, even when they are not physically present in front of you?Do you feel so connected to others that you feel markedly drained or highly invigorated by spending time with them?Can you have tears spring to your eyes simply by witnessing other people’s emotions?Do you feel in your heart when you know exactly what you need to do?

If so, you are an emotional intuitive.

If intuitions come to you most easily through your heart energy center, then you can use your emotional guidance scale to make intuitive decisions. You can feel in your heart when you align, or do not align, with a particular decision. You can often sense a feeling of fullness in your chest or a lifted vibration when an option is intuitively right, and you can sense a heaviness or a subdued vibration when an option is not in your highest alignment.

Emotional intuitives can often feel the emotions of others, which sometimes helps in intuitive decision making because you can be privy to information that other people are trying to conceal. Often emotional intuitives just *know* when other people are lying.

Visualize a heart connection:

 

My advice for helping emotional intuitive make decisions is to imagine an energetic cord leading from your heart to each particular decision, and follow the one that makes the strongest and most positive connection. Visualizing a heart centered connection is a fabulous tool for emotional intuitives to use when trying to obtain the clearest intuitive picture. Which cord feels the strongest? Which is the least knotted or tangled? Which cord is shining the brightest? Making a decision based on the choice that provides you with a deep seated feeling of love, energetic strength, and connection is your most accurate *YES*.

 

 

 

5. Inner Voice Intuitives: Guidance From Your Inner Truth

 

To find out if you get your clearest intuitions through your inner voice, move your awareness up to the center of your neck, in your throat.

As you bring your awareness to this portion of your body, ask yourself this:

Do you ever use talking or journalling to make big decisions?Do you ever use singing to de-stress or to amp up your energy before tackling a big task?Do you hum or whistle a lot?Do you like to make a list of pros and cons, do you like to talk big decisions through, do you prefer to bounce your ideas off of others?Do you feel like you get your best and most clear *YES* by talking out loud about your options and as you speak about each option, the decision becomes clear?

If journalling and using the written word or speaking out loud to hear your inner voice helps you to get that intuitive hit of clarity, then you are likely adept at connecting to your inner voice to get intuitive information.

For people who connect most easily with their inner truth through the use of vocal or written expression, it helps to simply get your mind out of the way and let the words arise in a free flow format — whether by talking out loud or stream-of-conscious writing. If you have this as your most easily accessible form of intuition, it might help you to begin each day writing a page or two uncensored in a journal, or ending the day this way. It might also help for you to talk out loud to yourself when making big decisions, instead of quietly thinking.

Speak it until you *know* it:

 

My advice for inner truth intuitive is to go outside for a walk or get into your car and go on a drive, talking out loud the entire way, when making decisions.  Other techniques that can help are to use chanting, humming, singing and even simply whistling to help intuitive information flow through through your throat to pick up on words or sounds that resonate with your inner truth. Making a decision based on the choice that provides you with a deep seated feeling of truth — what feels true for you, right now, in this moment — that is your most accurate *YES*.

 

 

 

6. Sensory Intuitives: Messages From your Minds Eye

 

To find out if you visualize or hear intuitive information best, move your awareness up to your mind’s eye, in the center of your forehead. Close your eyes for this one if you do not already have them closed. This is nothing to do with what you are actually seeing thorough your eyes and everything to do with what images or words are floating up in your minds eye.

As you bring your awareness to your mind’s eye, ask yourself this:

Do you ever get sudden pictures or images that seemingly come out of nowhere?Do you have a little voice in your head that allows you to make quick decisions (like which street to take when you are driving or to wake up at a certain time in the morning)?Do you ever see energy around others?Do you ever get distinct impressions or visions in your mind’s eye?Have you always been thought of as having an *active imagination* as a child?Do you get mental images that are seemingly co-incidental to reality — for example, you think of someone and then they call you later that day?

This is the most traditional way that intuitive information comes in… yet most of us filter out this information automatically, without even realizing we are filtering it out. I actually think we all get intuitive information in this way, but we discard it before it comes into our awareness. But if you are a visual or auditory intuitive, you are still open to getting this information without filtering it out! Go you! This is awesome.

Keep a journal and record all messages and visualizations as they come, before your analytical mind erases them for you. Make sure to express gratitude for these intuitions and to not discount them. Receive them and acknowledge them… acknowledging and recording the intuitive information you get is the best way to keep strengthening your gift.

Watch Thoughts Like Watching Clouds:

 

Let your mind bring up any image, words, sounds or songs it likes as you ponder a decision you are making… not attaching too much to any one image or voice but watching them all float in and out as if watching clouds blow by. Acknowledge all incoming sensory information, in the form of visuals that pop into your awareness, or songs that play in your mind, or words or voices that speak to you.

Practice letting them come and go freely.

You will know when a visualization is important to listen to. Very often you can actually hear or *feel* a resounding YES when you are hitting on the best choice for you. Making a decision based the choice that gives you a deep seated feeling of wisdom and alignment is your most accurate *YES*.

 

 

7. Unity Intuitives: Aligning With The Big Picture

 

To find out if you receive intuitive information best from a spiritual source, outside of your body, move your awareness up to your crown, slightly above your head.

As you bring your awareness to this area, ask yourself:

Do you get your best intuitive information through dreams?Do you have vivid dreams, instructive dreams, dreams where you receive information or dreams where you get to speak to loved ones who have passed?Do you wake up knowing what to do better than when you went to sleep the night before?Do you feel like one of the best things you can do when facing an important decision is to sleep on it?Do you find more clarity after taking a quick cat nap?Do you enjoy mediation?Do you feel comfortable in silence?Do you often prefer to take a break and leave a stressful environment than stay in the struggle of it?

 

These intuitive types can be the opposite of the gut intuitives — instead of acting on that very first gut feeling they have, often they need to take the time to let a day or two pass before making a big decision. Sleep allows for information to integrate and process, and for intuitives that allow divine information to come in when the brain is most receptive and relaxed can be their smartest intuitive move.

These types of intuitives should absolutely have a dream journal by their bedside and should get into the habit of recording feelings, thoughts, words, images and sensations that they have while they are still in that open hypnagogic state, before becoming fully alert. While in the hypnagogic state, your intuition can access information that is closed to it when the mind returns to it’s daytime state.

Another great tool for these types of intuitives is to work with meditation, as deep meditative states induce the same type of brain frequencies that deep sleep induces. Even deeply relaxing yoga states can create this type of open brain function, and grounding (touching the earth directly) can help enhance this as well, particularly when you sleep, it will prolong the amount of time you are in that deep open restorative sleep state.

The core of the earth, the mind in restorative sleep, and the mind in a deep meditative state all resonate at the same frequency (the Schumann frequency) and you can use your ability to receive intuitive information while in that open frequency by utilizing all three modalities to make decisions: sleep, meditation, and earthing.

Let Your Body’s Edges Inform You:

 

Feel the outer boundaries of your body. Feel the space around you and try to notice how connected you are to the air and energy around you, or not. Visualize energy tendrils, or sensors, or little sensory hairs feeling into the space around you. As you bring different choices or decisions to mind, see how this changes how connected you feel to the energy around you.

The right answer will make you feel fully enmeshed in the fabric of the universe. You may feel your body’s boundaries soften, relax or expand, you may see your energy tendrils become interwoven into the air around you. Your sense of separateness may lessen and you may feel more connected to the bigger picture when you are making the right choice for you. Making a decision based on the choice that provides you with a deep seated feeling of unity is your most accurate *YES*.

 

 

 

As an intuitive physician, I’ve learned a few things about how the body speaks to us, and how we can use our physical bodies as an informant, letting us know when we are on the right path and when we are veering off of it.  So I created an online class and I run it once a year.  And it starts in just two weeks.  Please join me.

Expand Your Intuition Class

 

Class includes two recorded Q&A sessions, where I personally answer any questions you have on opening your intuition.

I would so love to see you there and connect with you, supporting your inner knowings and helping you get practice using intuition in your daily life.

This class is a *must* for all empaths who find their energy affected or drained by others. I’ll teach you how to become more resilient and strong by tapping into your intuitive gifts, instead of depleted or drained by others.

 

Click over here to find out more & to hop into class — I’ve got your spot waiting for you:

 

 

No matter which way you resonated with receiving intuitive info as you read through this list, you absolutely can use your body to feel your way to your best decision making.

Whether that’s for your health or any other decisions in your life (big or small….) get used to dropping your awareness into your body and feeling your way towards an answer.

xoxoxo, Laura Koniver MD

 

The post How To Choose A Healing Path That Will Work Best For You appeared first on Intuition Physician.

My Latest Painting: I Am Nothing, I Am Everything, All At Once

Today I want to share with you the latest painting I just painted.

You can probably tell from some of my recent blog posts that I’ve been thinking a lot about the preciousness of our fleeting time on this earth.  About how our bodies reflect God’s divine design, and about the beauty that is inherent in the death transition.

 

 

So I wanted to paint it.   To somehow capture that moment when your physical body releases your energetic body and the dissolution of the tangible flows into the intangible.  How must that feel?

I think how it must feel is that I am nothing, and I am everything, both at the same time.

When I think about death sometimes, like for anybody, I am gripped with fear.  The fact that I am nothing, I am no longer, that one day everything that I have ever loved will be removed from this planet, it’s almost unfathomable.

But the reassuring thing is that if I am nothing, I must also be everything.  If no part of my physical body remains, then every single part of it, every single cell and every single molecule, has been transformed back into the massive soup of matter that makes up the entire Universe.

You can not possibly be more at one with the totality of everything you love, and everyone you have ever loved, than to dissolve into them all.  No separation.  Closer than you could ever be when stuck in the confines of a human body, a body that has edges and boundaries.

Dissolving into the primordial soup of it all is the ultimate reconnection.  A coming home to everything you’ve ever loved that has gone before you. This is what I tried to paint here.  All of the loved ones who have gone before you, waiting for you to join in.

 

As The Veil Lifts

But lately, I’ve been enjoying my new mantra, I am everything I am nothing.  It reminds me I don’t have to force anything.  I don’t have to grasp at anything.  It puts me in the truest most pure state of our soul being, and that is the state of allowing.

Now every time I think, “I am nothing” and I fear that nothing I have ever done or ever will do actually matters in the long run, I remind myself that equally true is “I am everything.”

And so are you.  You are everything.  You are inseperable from everything you have ever desired or wanted or felt love for or connected with.

 

 

One of my very favorite quotes, one I actually have framed in my bedroom, is:

“For the raindrop, joy is in entering the river.”

– Ghalib

It reminds me that becoming a part of everything, allowing my little droplet of soul energy to splash back into the energy of All That Is, losing my personal boundaries in favor of emerging (or more accurately, re-emerging) back into pure positive energy, is natural and right.

So here is how I have painted this moment of transition, when I am equally becoming nothing and equally becoming everything:

 

 

1.  First I drew the outline of a person standing on the physical earth and reaching up towards the sky, space, and beyond.

 

 

2.  Then I started on the background — I knew I wanted to use that beautiful golden ratio, those divine swirls to represent the dissolution of the body and the expansion of the soul, both back in the physical matter of the earth as well as the connection of the Universe.

 

 

3.  I kept working on those spirals, and added some stars in the background of the sky.  The spirals into the earth represent “I am nothing” — my carbon based life form releasing it’s atoms to the earth to transform into other forms of matter.  And the spirals in the sky represents “I am everything” — expanding with every part of the universe that has ever or will ever exist.

 

 

Here is the final painting.  I am nothing and I am everything, all at once.

Painted on a gallery wrapped canvas so it is finished on all sides, ready to hang, and signed by me.  More details available here.

I hope you love it.

 

I Am Nothing I Am Everything

 

xoxox, Laura Koniver MD

 

 

The post My Latest Painting: I Am Nothing, I Am Everything, All At Once appeared first on Intuition Physician.

How Grounding Quickly Reverses The Effect Trauma Has On Our Health

Living with stress can have serious long term implications on our health.  But it doesn’t have to.

It’s natural for our bodies to go through times of trauma and stress and then rebound to full health.  There are lots of things you can do to mitigate stress and trauma and prevent them from leaving lasting imprints on your body that ultimately deteriorates your health.

Which is important, because if we don’t release the traumas and stressors that we experience, our cells, organs, tissues and physical body as a whole literally changes.

This is the study of epigenetics — and I’ve seen it play out in clinical medicine over and over again:  trauma governs what genes are turned on and turned off, how genes are expressed and used, and literally changes the way the human body functions.

 

If you are feeling the physical effects of trauma or prolonged stress, please know it’s not in your head — your body is literally physically different after prolonged stress and trauma.  This is normal and reversible.

I’m so aware of how acute and prolonged stress affects our health that I’ve written many previous articles on this for you, such as:

The Good News About Trauma RecoveryTrauma Changes The Health Of Your Body, But It’s ReversibleChildhood Trauma Affects Your Adult Health. But It Doesn’t Have To.Trauma Increases Headache Risk 4-FoldChildhood Trauma Increases Risk Of Self Harm. Here’s Help.Trauma Earlier In Life Ups Risk Of Surgery Later… Here’s WhyOCD May Stem From Birth TraumaNeed To Boost Your Hopefulness? I’ve Got YouReduce Your Overwhelm In 3 Breaths, Right Now With MeYour Food Choices Impact Your Anxiety Levels… Here’s What To Look Out ForAnything Is Possible For Your Health. And I Mean Anything.Feel Immediate Relief With Grounding: Relax Your Muscles, Strengthen Your BonesIs Your Job Driving You Crazy? You Are Not Alone. Here’s Help.The Healing Process Of GriefLetting Go Helps You Heal (Here’s How)

In the video below, I’m talking about one of the easiest ways to mitigate trauma and stress as it occurs, and that is through grounding.

It’s a 8 min video that I created to help you (during the pandemic shut down in 2020) see exactly why grounding is in a unique position to erase stress from your physical tissues, and why I feel that grounding is an absolutely mandatory part of a trauma healing plan.  The same exact reason that grounding was an essential healing plan during that lock down, is exactly why during any other stressor in your life, both those happening right now and those that will happen in the future, you want to get grounded.

Trauma Recovery With Grounding

 

In a nutshell:Acute stress causes a physical reaction:your muscles become tenseyour heart rate is elevated and circulation is constrictedyour digestion shuts down and mouth gets dryyour adrenaline & cortisol surgeyour sleep is disruptedLong term this leads to:pain from muscle tension in the form of chronic tension headaches, tooth grinding & TMJ, restless leg syndrome, fibromyalgia and other pain syndromesheart disease, increased risk of heart attack and strokeinflammatory disorders of the gut, malabsorption, heartburn, reflux, irritable bowelan increased risk of autoimmune disordersadrenal fatigue, circadian rhythm disturbance, sex hormone imbalance, even early menopause or menstrual irregularitiesinsomnia, memory problems, structural brain changesGrounding directly addresses these issues, providing you with:a near instantaneous decrease in muscle tensionimproved heart rate variability (HRV) and enhanced circulationboosted digestion and vagal tonedecreased inflammationnormalized cortisol levelsand deeper, more restorative sleep

 

 

If you have ever felt the relief of grounding, then you already know how supportive it can be and how resilient it helps your body feel.  Literally helping to center you no matter what is going on in your life, no matter how stressed out you feel, even in the midst of a panic attack, the earth is waiting out there to center and support you.

It’s so good that it is a crucial component for treating long term pain… if you’d like to hear me talk more about that, you may enjoy this video I recorded several years ago during a medical conference on treating pain:

Why You Are Still In Chronic Pain & 5 Ways To Fix It

 

 

There are several other key things — beyond grounding — that you can do to release stress and trauma before it triggers PTSD and other traumatic sequela in the body.  I go into each one in depth in my Trauma Resiliency & Recovery online class that starts in two weeks.

If you want to protect your current health from the ill effects of living through the largest pandemic in recent history, you want to be a part of this class.

If the current stress we are under now is triggering old wounds, old scars, bringing up PTSD or other trauma symptoms from past events you have survived… you want to be a part of this class.

In fact, if you notice that you are having a harder time dealing with the stressors that this global pandemic has caused than some of your other friends or loved ones, there is good reason.

If you’ve had a history of trauma, or a history of greater stressors in your life before the coronavirus circled the globe (such as serious illness or injury, death of a loved one, divorce, unemployment, financial struggles, legal troubles, etc…) than recent medical studies prove that this pandemic actually has been harder on you than those without a history of trauma.

We’ve known for a while that a history of trauma makes subsequent traumas more likely to cause PTSD:

 A study published in 1999 showed that a history of trauma increases the risk of getting PTSD with a subsequent traumaA study published in 2008 backed this up by finding that a history of trauma increases not only the risk of getting PTSD but also the risk of developing depression (Major Depressive Disorder, also known as MDD) when faced with a new trauma.And now, a study published in June 2020  looked at folks with a history of trauma and their response to a natural disaster — a major earthquake that struck the coast of Chile, killing over 500 people and displacing over 800,000 people.  Researchers found that individuals who had 4 or more pre-disaster stressors had a significantly greater chanced of developing PTSD than those with no pre-disaster stressors.

They also found that having even one single predisaster stressor increased the chance of developing depression, and that every single additional predisaster stressor increased the odds of having a major depressive episode significantly higher.

Their conclusion was that having a history of stressors actually gives you stress sensitization, making you more vulnerable to the negative effects of a new trauma (including natural disasters, like our current pandemic) and increasing your risk of mental health issues.

This is particularly important to know in light of the recent pandemic, as it might help explain why naturally you may be feeling more overwhelm in the face of this global crisis than some of your other friends or family members who don’t have a history of stressors or trauma.

While it might make you feel better to know that your history of having major life stressors and traumas makes it completely natural and expected for future stressors to be hitting you in a deeper way than it hits others, you deserve some good news.

Is there good news with trauma?

Actually, yes.

 

The largest meta-analysis to date on trauma recovery (looking at data from over 11,000 relevant medical studies) suggests that the best long term recovery after trauma is simply talking about it, no medication required.

Published in JAMA Psychiatry on June 12, 2019, reasearchers looked at direct comparisons between talk therapy (psychotherapy) and drug therapy (pharmacological treatments) in patients with PTSD.

They found that in the long term, talk therapy helped more, being slightly superior to drug therapy both immediately following treatment and in long term follow up.The studies they looked at ranged from 2 months to 6 months long, and this meta-analysis showed there was no advantage to using drugs in recovering from PTSD.This means that drugs are now no longer recommended for first line treatment of trauma, as there is no indication that they are beneficial.

While I am certainly not against the use of medications when they are needed, they should be used sparingly and either short term (as they do not show any long term advantage) or only for patients who don’t find improvement after talk therapy alone.

Be encouraged by this. Because this means that the vast majority of folks can be helped — and helped best — by talking about trauma instead of medicating it away.

Connect with others.  Reach out for help.  Don’t feel like you are going crazy and don’t feel like you must go it alone.

We all have trauma, we all do.  But if your history of trauma is making this pandemic harder on you than on others, you can absolutely get through it.  There is long term benefit from connecting to others and speaking about it.

 

 

The medical literature is clear… just communicating about trauma is every bit as healing (or even more healing) than all the best medications we have to treat trauma.

So simply joining a class, talking to a therapist, or connecting with others to heal can be just what you need to feel better than you have ever felt.

And here’s the best part:  those who move through trauma can actually be healthier than those who never went through any trauma at all.

It’s incredible to believe that trauma can actually strengthen your health but it is true.

In my Trauma Resilency & Recovery Class I go over the medical literature that reveals that trauma can actually be adaptive and empowering, and I show you all the tools to use trauma to boost your own health in ways you never could have imagined possible.

 

I developed this class based on my extensive research into the best of what the medical literature tells us about how to release trauma once and for all and become healthier for it.

No matter what you have gone through, you absolutely do have the ability to rebound from from it and create a new normal and a new health set point.  Everybody does.  Your body naturally wants to bounce back to full and complete wellness… mind, body and spirit.

I’ll give you the tools to get there and walk with you through it.  Class emails come directly into your inbox so that you can start healing, right from the safety and comfort of your own home.  Join this course by clicking right here today.

And check in with others that you love that you know face significant stressors and might benefit from taking this trauma healing class right alongside you.  Forward them this email and have them sign up alongside you.  Together we can find relief.

 

 

Moving onwards and upwards, healing right alongside you…xoxoxo, Laura

The post How Grounding Quickly Reverses The Effect Trauma Has On Our Health appeared first on Intuition Physician.

Let Me Help You Move Through (& Release) Difficult Emotions

 

 

A few years ago I became a Death Doula.

You would think as a physician we would be taught in detail about the death and dying process in medical school, but we weren���t. ��Not at all.

We were taught how to pronounce someone dead, how to perform advanced life support to try to stave off death, how to sign a death certificate��� but never about the intricacies of it:

what the body feels and experiences as the soul prepares to leave itwhat the dying process looks likewhat order the organ systems shut down in and how that looks and feelshow long afterwards it takes for the body to have the soul no longer palpable in ithow to make the process more meaningful for the person transitioning onhow to make the process more meaningful for the loved ones still herehow to care for the body in the immediate hours after deaththe meaningful experiences folks who have technically died and then returned to live have to say about the death processand so much more about the possibilities ��� and the healing ��� that go hand in hand with the death experience.

To learn these things, I had to find my own education by other death doulas and death midwives (this one is my fav.)

What I found, is that like most big changes, death brings with it many opportunities to find deeper fulfillment. ��I���ve seen many patients greet death with joy, surprise, wonderment, love and even gratitude. ��Don���t count out the possibility that death may very well be one of your favorite phases of your life.

In medical school, I had an attending physician who had a heart transplant. ��He said as they removed his heart on the operating table, he went somewhere totally different than earth. ��After putting his new heart in, the surgeon shocked it to get it to start beating again. ��He says he felt that shock and felt himself feeling pulled back into his physical body and when he woke up��� he was so damn mad. ��Angry to have to be back on this heavy painful earth. ��Although he very much loved his wife, he loved his kids, he loved his job��� whatever side he was on for the brief moment he was on it was infinitely better. �� The last thing he wanted to do was leave it, not even to come back here to his family.

 

 

 

 

I had a patient in the ICU who was dying, and as the veil lifted she started seeing her mother (who had died decades ago) sitting bedside with her. ��My patient would not let anyone sit in that chair, because that���s where her mother was sitting��� so I stood nearby and listened as she talked to her mother. ��She was so joyful and expressive and illuminated when talking to her mom, she laughed often and she gestured freely with her arms. �� She had not seen her mother in 40 years, and you could literally feel her light up at seeing her again and simultaneously relax into knowing it was all okay and that she was not alone during this death transition.

My very own grandfather woke up after having heart surgery in his mid-eighties, and told my father that he saw his dead wife ��(my grandmother, Grams) while he was on that operating table. ��He said Grams had told him to go back and eat ��� to finish his applesauce, specifically ��� and yes there was applesauce waiting for him back in the hospital room. ��When he did just days later, I painted this painting of the two of them reuniting:

 

 

My painting: Onwards And Upwards, original artwork has sold.

 

And on and on. ��Just before my best friend���s mom passed away, she told me that her mom started seeing energy ��� the light of souls that were in the room with her. ��She first started seeing them at the hospital she was in, and when she was able to come back home on hospice care, she told her daughter that she now saw the lights in her home too ��� and that they were full of color.

Watching people as the veil lifts between the two worlds ��� ��the living and the non-living ��� has always been my favorite thing. ��It���s so comforting, to know no one dies alone. ��Think of all of the billions of souls that have lived and gone before you, that not only make you who you are biologically but who have crossed over, and wait for you still, on the other side of that veil.

People you know and loved, people you never met, all knowing exactly who you are and welcoming you home. ��Row after row after row of beautiful soul energies, lighting up as they come to greet you.

But of course, for those of us left behind, there is great sorrow and grief.

No one likes to feel separated from those they love most, from those they love even a bit, from those that they had a complicated relationship with, from those they had unresolved issues with��� it���s hard to be separate, which is why I feel there is so much joy in the re-connection. ��The joining of each of our souls with all the souls that have gone before us.

I am so enamored by the joy that the dying person feels as they reconnect with the vast oneness of it all, and the vivid description of the colorful light that appeared in front of my best friend’s mom, that I painted it. ��I called this painting As The Veil Lifts and made prints for you right here:

 

 

As The Veil Lifts, prints available right here.

 

I painted all the beautiful multitude of souls that await you, that have gone first, that surround you. ��I truly believe no one ever dies alone, no matter what it looked like on earth as they passed. ��There is great love surrounding us all and we see this most clearly as the journey towards the death transition unfolds.

If you���ve experienced a sudden loss then you know first hand how it knocks your feet right out from under you. ��Whether from the death of a loved one, a trauma, a job loss or divorce, severe illness, surgery, or any other unexpected change, it can be hard to endure��� both��emotionally and physically.

Below I offer some��concrete help for specific grief symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, fatigue, sadness and decreased appetite. �� I am also running ��� for the only time in 2022 (so please join me!) ��� my Trauma Recovery & Resiliency online class this month. ��It starts on August 29th. ��Sign up here and let���s get you feeling centered again.

Meanwhile, here are some ideas��of holistic things you can do to support your journey through the transformation of grief. ��It’s not all inclusive and if you are having trouble with completing normal activities of daily life, absolutely reach out to your in person physician. ��But here are some little things you can do that might make all the difference in the world:

 

Holistic Ideas For Moving Through Grief Symptoms:

 

 

 

1. Depressed Mood

 

Feeling down or depressed while grieving should remind you to prioritize TLC for your body, and give yourself plenty of restorative time to allow it to lift. ��Here are some holistic ways to help the process along:

Eat chocolate ��� ��Yep, it���s true. ��Published on July 29, 2019 in Depression and Anxiety,��researchers found that dark chocolate consumption significantly reduced a patients chance of feeling depressive symptoms for a 24 hour period of time. ��Looking at over 13,000 patients, researchers found that eating any amount of dark chocolate decreased depressive symptoms by 70% over patients who did not consume chocolate in the previous 24 hours. ��Oh my gosh��� if I could give you a Rx drug that was 70% effective in taking away depressive symptoms for 24 hours, we���d literally all be fighting to get it, some might even advocate for putting it in our water supply, ha-ha. ��Now imagine if this miracle drug tasted just like chocolate. Now imagine it wasn���t a drug at all and it was just simply chocolate itself. Wish come true, that���s what they found.Supplement with Zinc ��� �� In the December 15, 2013, the medical journal Biological Psychiatry published the results of a huge study that found that zinc supplementation can effectively reverse depression��� and that zinc added to antidepressant therapy may produce more rapid and more effective improvement in symptoms of depression than without zinc supplementation.Add Probiotics ��� The natural flora of the gut is diminished in depression, so restoring the natural vitality and variety of healthy organisms in the digestive tract is a very powerful way to improve outcome in depression.��A study published on Nov 15, 2013 in Biological Psychiatry, showed decreased depression when participants received probiotic supplements for 30 days, and another study reported clinically significant improvement in mood when participants ate probiotic-containing yogurt for 3 weeks.Consume Omega 3 Fatty Acids ��� shown in many different studies to impact brain health��� from improving symptoms in ADHD, protecting brain volume as we age, and decreasing postpartum blues, omega fatty acids are a must have to soothe and support your entire body inside and out, from skin to brain.Take Vit D ��� The link between low levels of Vit D and depression have long been established, but newer research suggests that Vitamin D supplements, taken for 12 weeks, can reverse depressed mood.�� Most of us are Vit D deficient, so if you are experiencing depressed mood this is a great time to give Vit D supplements a try! ��Read more about these medical studies here.Sleep ��� ��A study presented��at the31st Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies,��Abstract 0335 in June 2017 showed that patients who were medically treated for depression but did not sleep well were three times less likely to recover from depression, and that��sleeping 7 hours or more nightly actually tripled��the rates of��full resolution of depression. ��In the study,��62% of patients who received help for��insomnia and got at least 7 hours of sleep nightly had their depression fully resolve, compared to 42% of patients sleeping 6 hours a night and��only 18% of patients sleeping 5 hours a night. In other words, more sleep = higher chance of recovery in depressionSee your in person physician — don’t hesitate to ask for help. ��Depression is hard and there are medical professionals literally waiting to support you. ��Reach out.

 

 

 

2. Sadness

 

Sadness needs to physically flow through the body in order to release. ��You must *feel* the sorrow. ��Don���t try to resist it or put it off, instead get into the state of allowing the flow using this one simple trick: water.

Water is the ultimate medium of flow on earth, and comprises the majority of our body.��In fact, water is the body���s natural choice of release as well, in the form of tears. Tears often help facilitate the flow of sorrow through the body and allows it to release more easily.��So one tip is ��� allow the tears. ��Let the water of your tears release your sorrow and lift it from your body.

Can���t cry? ��You can still use the power of water to help facilitate the release of your sorrow, worry or grief:

Use a hot water bottle full of warm water and hold it on your body where you are feeling the sorrow (chest, abdomen, neck, back���) and breathe into the sensationTake a long hot bath (add some baking soda and apple cider vinegar to turn it into a detoxing experience)Sit in a warm shower and envision the water carrying your sorrow down the drain for youUse steam/humidifiers to help hydrate your head, clearing out the old mental fog and allowing room for the newDrink water ��� hydrate hydrate hydrate during times of worry or sorrow more than any other time of your life. Let your body be flushed out inside and out and with every urination or bowel movement recognize you are flushing the old energy down the drain and making way for new healing

 

 

 

3. Fatigue

 

The feeling of heavy fatigue or during grief means your body needs a break��� NOW. ��Not later. ��You must to honor this sensation/symptom for the important information it is providing instead of ignoring or resisting it.
Fatigue and depression show up to alert us that we are in a time of healing/repair and not in a time of action.

Help it by:

Low intensity exercise ��� respect your body���s need to slow down. Now is not the time for strenuous exercise��� honor caring for your body in gentle ways such as yoga, stretching, long slow walks through nature.Get help ��� you don���t need to do it all alone. Ask for help. Call a friend. Lean on family to help with some of the burdens you are seeking relief from. ��Flag down a neighbor and just simply and literally ask for help.Passive body work. Your body needs to get into receiving mode and not giving mode. Your giving mode is burnt out. What I���ve noticed is that most people who struggle with fatigue are the givers who are giving to everybody but themselves. You DESERVE to give your body the message that there is a time to stop and receive. Get a massage, acupuncture, reiki, physical therapy, a facial, a haircut. Anything that is a passive process for you ��� let others actively help move that energy through your body and help you on your way to release it.Deeper sleep at night��� see below

 

 

 

4. ��Sleeplessness

 

You absolutely, 100% NEED deep, restorative sleep! ��It���s non-negotiable��� poor sleep causes��memory impairment,��decreased life span, weight gain, worsened anxiety and other debilitating mood disturbances, increased risk of��dementia and an increased incidence of Alzheimers,��widespread brain atrophy and much much more!

Here are some ways to get that much needed, deep restorative sleep you absolutely NEED to make your way through the process of grief:

Grounding ��� connecting to the earth has been shown in sleep studies to increase the amount of time we spend in deep sleep, as well as treat jet lag and other circadian rhythm disturbances.�� Sleeping with a grounding product will support your body���s healing process from head to toe, all night long��� find my favorite indoor grounding products in my Grounding Boutique right here.Melatonin ��� Taken as the sun sets (not 1 hour before bedtime as printed on the label, but whenever the sun actually, literally goes down ��� this is when it���s most biologically critical for your body to get a melatonin boost) allows sleep to be deeper and more restorative.Daily activity ��� simply getting up every single hour of the waking day and walking for a bit (instead of spending several hours in a row inactive) just might be the best gift you could ever give your body.Develop a nightly routine ��� turn off all the lights, make sure there are no computer screens or clock faces or nightlights lighting up the room while you sleep, and drink a soothing cup of warm milk, sleepytime tea, or take a hot bath to relax your body and transition into bed. ��More on this in a blog post I wrote for you right here.Sleep with an external source of warmth ��� we all have a deep seated, cellular need to be connected to others while we sleep ��� it comes from the caveman days of sleeping in groups to help increase survival. So especially if you have recently lost a spouse, a pet, or a loved one that you are used to sleeping with, insonmia might be a real struggle. Fulfill your instinct to sleep share by sleeping with a hot water bottle (the warmth provides that deep comfort your body is craving) or with a loved pet or pray to loved ones and angels to surround you as you sleep each night so you go to bed feeling connected and supported. ��In fact, you can combine grounding at night with adding external warmth with the only grounding hot water bottle in the world (that I am aware of) that I had made for myself and love it so much, I offer it to you here too.

 

 

5. Anxiety

 

Anxiety is a very active state, where you have lots of energy building up inside, and the answer to this (as in all emotions) is to really allow the flow to open up and release it to find relief.

With the energetic state of anxiety you generally need to get into a more active state of allowing, in contrast to the passive allowing state required by sadness, grief, depression and fatigue.

Anxiety states respond to active release��� so give some of these a try:

Meditation ��� this is a very active and aware state that puts you in the perfect open-but-alert mind-frame necessary for relief. Focus on taking 3 deep breaths in and out and choose a mantra for the in breathe and the out breath. If you can do 5 breaths, do 5. Work up to 10, 20, 50 breaths of focused openness:

breathing in: I am lovable
breathing out: I am loved
breathing in: I am safe
breathing out: I am taken care of by God
breathing in: I am protected
breathing out: I am healing

Movement and exercise ��� moving the body and quieting the mind is the goal of many gentle, healing practices such as yoga, tai chi, qigong. If your energy feels more intense and will not allow you to settle down enough to do those types of exercise, honor your body���s need for active processing by something a bit more intense like pilaties, karate, kick boxing, or going on a long jog.Give to others ��� unlike depression and fatigue, the gift of anxiety is the gift of having energy to give and express��� and one of the best way to off-gas this is to give to others in need. Volunteer at a cause that is meaningful to you, start a year of gratitude (doing one act of thankfulness to loved ones or strangers each week and record it in a gratitude journal) or just go out into the world each day asking that you be shown a way you can be of service. The point here is not to add any more stress into your life ��� do not do anything that doesn���t feel right. This is not a burden, it���s a very simple way to get rid of extra energy/tension. Consider doing simple things that don���t require a lot of preparation but will allow you to actively process and off gas extra energy. For example, walk along a road in your neighborhood and pick up litter for an hour after dinner. Pick up an extra pizza on your way home from work and give the extra one to a construction crew as you pass (this is my daughter���s favorite ���gratitude attack���) or head to your local SPCA and take some of the dogs on a walk each weekend. In fact���Care for a pet ��� caring for a pet is the perfect way to allow your energy to flow in a loving and active, yet low stress way. Simply walking your dog every day, spending 30 minutes petting your cat while she purrs on your chest, whistle to a pet bird and teach him your favorite TV show theme song��� study after study has shown that pets improve our health simply by being in our lives. During times of anxiety and frustration, loving on a pet a little extra each day gives a heart-centered but simple way to open our heart chakras and allow excess energy to flow.

 

 

6. ��Decreased appetite

 

It���s important to consume nutrient dense food even when your appetite is low-to-gone. ��Your body needs healthy fats and protien in order to keep up it���s immune system and help get you through the intense and often exhausting grieving process.

Just when you don���t feel like eating at all is right when you need the nutritional support the most. ��So here are three tips to help you stay healthy even when your appetite has left:

Hydrate ��� it���s really important to at least stay well hydrated during emotional times. Although you can go for days without eating, you can not survive for days without water. Drink non-fluoridated, fresh, filtered water and drink drink drink some more. If you simply you can���t eat a single bite��� drink a glass of water and take a deep breath and stay well hydrated.Gentle movement ��� while it is okay to want to curl up and not move while you are hurting, it���s also important to make sure you get gentle activity each day ��� going on a daily walk in nature is the best therapy. The movement stimulates gut perastalsis and will help gently nudge your appetite back into place.Nutrient dense foods ��� when all you feel like eating is a few small bites, make every bite count. There is a reason folks deliver nourishing bone broths like chicken noodle soup to loved ones who aren���t feeling well��� the healthy fats and minerals in bone broth is nurtirtionally sound and will help keep your immunity high (see side bar). Other options include easily digestible casseroles, stews, organic nuts and peanut butter (when my kids just don���t want to eat, we compromise on a scoop or two of organic peanut butter), healthy fats such as avadodo and coconut oil, organic yogurt, and organic butter (a comforting warm grilled cheese sandwhich with organic cheese and grilled in organic butter is wonderful, especially alongside a cup of bone broth!)

 

If your grief is particularly intense, lasting longer than a few months or accompanied by suicidal thoughts��� or you simply want the support of a counsellor��� be sure to seek professional help by a medical or mental health practitioner who is experienced in grief counseling.

There absolutely is a way to the other side of grief��� you will get there��� ask for help when you need to and healing will happen.

 

 

 

 

And again, if you want more direct support from me, I’d love to see you in��my Trauma Resiliency & Recovery Class — click over here right now to save your spot. ��And don���t forget to share this healing idea list by forwarding this blog post to your loved ones too!

With much love, faith, and encouragement to you in your healing journey��� and happiness over the unconditional support that awaits us all when it is our turn to transition onwards���

xoxoxo, Laura

 

 

The post Let Me Help You Move Through (& Release) Difficult Emotions appeared first on Intuition Physician.

The Golden Ratio of Our Beautiful Human Body, Both Inside and Out

 

 

 

You have probably heard about the Golden Ratio (in math it’s known as Phi) before — it is a pervasive pattern in both nature as well as in the natural design of our human anatomy.

Even if you didn’t know it was called the Golden Ratio, you’ve probably seen figures like this one — first described by Leonardo da Vinci — that show our body’s torso proportions, limb proportions, facial proportions, finger and toe proportions, external ear proportions, etc… are all designed according to this beautiful, reproducible mathematic principle:

 

 

 

This ratio is a common theme in nature as well.

Just walk outside your front door and you will find that leaves, seeds, branches, shells, weather patterns and more create a beautiful spiraling pattern that echoes the proportions of the Golden Ratio:

 

available via Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license and first appearing in this online article.

 

The Golden Ratio is so much a part of nature it��even found it’s way into two of the grounding films that I contributed to. ��In one of them (The Grounded) I interviewed astronaut Charlie Duke. ��He told me that the same reproducible, predictable mathematical principles that allowed him to safely land on the moon 230,000+ miles away, and then safely land back on earth, were what allowed him to see God’s hand in the creation of our universe. ��To him, it was proof of a Divine Architect who put these principles into play.

You can watch The Grounded for free right here.

 

 

 

And you can watch the sequel, Heal For Free — which also gives beautiful examples of the Golden Ratio in nature — right here right now.

 

 

 

But what you may not know is this: the golden ratio is not just a visually pleasing ratio for our external viewing pleasure, making beautiful spirals and other eye pleasing proportions, but it’s also found internally throughout the body and is in fact a healing ratio.

It’s true, the interior anatomy of our human body relies heavily on the golden ratio as well, with many physicians (including myself) that feel that the golden ratio is not just the ideal pattern for many of the organ systems of our bodies, but actually may be used to help treat illness and disease, once we understand it more.

Here are some fantastic medical studies that you might be interested in:

The Golden Ratio in the structure of our cardiovascular system, including the heart: ��published in The International Journal of Cardiology, here.the Golden Ratio may help with regulating and even healing our cardiovascular system: published in The International Journal of Cardiology here.Golden ratio possibly helpful with diagnosis and treatment of heart disease: published in The International Journal of Cardiology here.The Golden ratio of our actual heartbeat: published in The International Journal of Cardiology here.The Golden ratio of our nasal cavity: published in the Ear, Nose and Throat Journal here.The Golden ratio of our skull: published in The Journal of Craniofacial Surgery here.The Golden ratio in our lungs: published in Chest Journal here.The Golden ratio in our limbs, fingers, and in designing how we walk: published in Neuroscience Letters here.The Golden Ratio possible help in improving gait disorders, like Parkinson’s disease: published in Sensors, here.The Golden Ratio design of our DNA: published in Interdisciplinary Sciences here.

 

 

 

This healing spiraling pattern is so pervasive throughout our existence that it forms the very pattern of our genetic code, our DNA.

In fact, you can pan down all the way into our cell nucleus and look at the Golden Ratio in our DNA, and you can pan out all the way out to the formation of solar systems and galaxies, and yep, the Golden Ratio awaits:

 

 

Image curtesy of NASA Hubble space telescope

 

I bring all this up because I was at a medical conference this past May, and looking down at my feet as I grabbed a cup of coffee between presentations, I noticed the carpet featured a beautiful scrolling pattern, one that reminded me very much of the beautiful golden ratio.

I snapped a pic for you:

 

 

 

It reminded me of so many of the spirals that I have painted into many of my healing paintings.

I thought I would share some of my artwork with you today, in case you haven’t hopped over and looked at my healing paintings in a while. ��I wanted you to understand why a spiraling design is such a large part of many of my paintings. ��I wanted you to notice this healing design when you are out and about in your own life… as I did when I glanced down at the carpet.

I use the spiraling design of the Golden Ratio to represent the healing energy flow from our earth quite often in my paintings. ��This painting actually became the cover of that healing documentary, The Grounded:

 

 

Reaching For Guidance, all rights reserved, Laura Koniver MD

 

And this painting eventually became the cover of the sequel documentary on grounding, called Heal For Free:

 

Grounding In Moonlight, all rights reserved, Laura Koniver MD

 

Here are more examples of healing artwork that painted where I included the Golden Ratio in the artwork:

 

With Every Beat, all rights reserved, Laura Koniver MD

 

Deep Support From Grounding, all rights reserved, Laura Koniver MD

 

Help Is Never Far Away, all rights reserved, Laura Koniver MD

 

Stand Tall, all rights reserved, Laura Koniver MD

 

Held In Safety, all rights reserved, Laura Koniver MD

 

Life, all rights reserved, Laura Koniver MD

 

Goddess Delivers, all rights reserved, Laura Koniver MD

 

Our Orbiting Journey, all rights reserved, Laura Koniver MD

 

You can find more of these (and many other canvases & prints of healing artwork that I have painted over the years,) right here:

 

To our beautiful, naturally healthy, intentionally designed bodies, inside and out!

xoxo, Laura Koniver MD

 

 

The post The Golden Ratio of Our Beautiful Human Body, Both Inside and Out appeared first on Intuition Physician.

7 Quick Ways The Earth Can Reset Your Mood Whenever You Need It

 

 

 

A few weeks ago I shared these tips in Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper, so today I wanted to share them here with my readers too!

If you feel run down, tired, discouraged, sad, anxious, or any other mood that you just want to shake, getting grounded outside for a few minutes is probably the quickest way I know how to do it. ��Exercise can help, a really good night of sleep can help, even medications (when appropriate) can help, but if need support right this very minute, grounding can shift your mood by supporting brain function — literally in just ��seconds —�� as this study published in 2011, ��this study published in 2015, and my favorite, this important study, published in 2018, show by looking at EEG measurements of the brain.

I think of grounding as hitting a reset button.

And you can reset any time of the day or night in just a few minutes. Grounding is good thing to know about (and share with others) because all day, every day, around the clock, we are bombarded with horrific world events, stressful local news, court rulings and more, that reasonably leave us feeling discouraged or even defeated.��It���s normal to feel stressed out, unsure, depressed and anxious over these current events, but it���s also possible to find relief and hope through the power of grounding.

By connecting with the earth, we can release tension from our muscles, shift the brain from high strung beta waves to calming alpha wave patterns, decrease the stress signals in our body by supporting vagal nerve function (which helps loosen that knot you feel in the pit of your stomach pretty quickly) and boost your mood, all naturally.

And the best part is that the earth is free and always available to you. If you are feeling utterly overwhelmed, all you have to do is walk out your front door, step out of your office, or pull over your car at the nearest rest stop and touch the earth.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

 

 

 

 

1. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the news, try this: Grounded deep breathing.

 

It only takes three deep breaths to calm your heart rate, decrease muscle tension and feel more centered. Combine that with grounding outside and you���ll get exponential benefits. Grounding has been medically shown to decrease stress, help release fight or flight mode, and even shift the brain into calmer brain wave patterns. It can be as simple as sitting outside on the earth and just taking three deep breaths.

To go further with it, consider adding a longer session of meditation to this practice. Focus on breathing slowly in and out, starting with a few minutes and working your way up to 10 or 20 minute sessions. You will feel a complete reset of mind and body.

For some easy breathing techniques plus a video where you can do some deep breathing right along with me, hop over to this article I wrote on the power of breath to decrease stress:

A Simple But Truly Effective Way To Immediately Decrease Your Stress: Breathe

 

 

 

 

 

2. If you’re feeling sad or despondent, try this: Grounding in morning daylight.

 

Medical studies on grounding have shown that being grounded can significantly boost our mood. Combining that with morning light exposure helps to take that even further, reducing feelings of depression and boosting outlook.

As I blog about here, light therapy has been actually shown to naturally treat depression better than a prescription anti-depressant! ��And yes, you can do all three at the same time (take an anti-depressant and use light therapy and grounding, together) for additional benefit.

So try your best to go outside and get as much natural light as possible in the morning hours, ideally at some point between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.����Try to get into a daily routine of taking just a few minutes every morning when you wake up to step outside ��� you can even take your coffee with you ��� to greet the day grounded, and feel your mood brighten.

 

 

 

 

3. If you need a break from stress at work, try this: Grounding on a sidewalk.

 

More surfaces than you think will ground you ��� you can get grounded on a city sidewalk just as easily as at the beach. You get just as grounded by touching a metal signpost anchored in the earth as you do by touching a living tree. So if you are at work, or traveling, or live in an urban setting and just need to take a breather, head outside and find your favorite sidewalk square.

Stand with a foot touching it or sit down and let your hand touch the sidewalk and allow grounding go immediately to work, stabilizing your autonomic nervous system, decreasing muscle tension, calming your racing heart and deepening your breathing. You���ll return back to your task at hand feeling much more centered.

Didn’t know that sidewalks will ground you? ��There are lots of other surfaces waiting outside to ground you, no dirt, mud or mess (or even bare feet) required! ��Hop over here to read an article I wrote for you and watch a quick video where I take you around and show you 15 other surfaces that you can turn to for a quick grounding fix:

Surfaces You Ignore Daily That Ground You (And The Ones That Won���t)

 

 

 

 

4. If you need a boost of positivity, try this: Touch a tree outside.

 

Multiple studies have found that having access to a garden or other green space — even simply viewing plants — decreases depression rates, anxiety rates, and dramatically reduces stress. We have such an innate need to be submersed in a world with foliage and plants around us that one study found that patients who simply had a view of plants through a window while recovering from surgery had better moods, used less pain medications, had less surgical post-op complications, and even decreased their length of stay in the hospital.

You can get all of those benefits by seeking out a favorite tree, and taking it one step further by touching it. In fact, all plants that are growing in the ground ��� including trees, bushes, flowers, even a single blade of grass ��� are grounded and will ground you instantly when you touch it. So reach out and hold on to your favorite tree, and visit it often, through all the seasons, to add the healing benefits of grounding for a powerful energy boost and mood lift.

You might become such a fan of ground through touching plants that you consider gardening — whether a small container garden or a few edible bushes to a large in ground garden, read through this article I wrote for you and see if you are inspired to create a late summer or even a fall garden to get your daily grounding dose:

Gardening: Health Benefits That Go Way Beyond Time Spent Grounding

 

 

 

 

5. If you are feeling fatigued or run down, try this: Eat lunch outside.

 

The midday slump is real, and dealing with stressful news when we are already feeling depleted makes us feel even worse. That���s why one of the best habits you can get into is taking your lunch outside and eating it grounded, to help you power through the afternoon. EEG studies of brain activity show that connecting to the soothing energy of the earth instantaneously shifts our brain wave patterns and reduces ambient stress levels. Another study on participants who grounded while at work showed that this significantly boosted mood and energy levels while decreasing feelings of depression, pain, and fatigue.

Head outside with your lunch and sit at a bench, slipping your shoes off and resting feet on the ground while you eat, or sit on a sidewalk or cement steps, or even simply touch a metal railing while outside on your lunch break, all of these will ground you. If you are lucky enough to have a park within walking distance, sit at a picnic table and slip a shoe off to touch the ground while you eat, and don’t forget that the cement floor of picnic shelters are also grounded.

As an added bonus, grounding actually boosts digestion by supporting your vagal tone, and allows you to process the nutrients you are eating even better. ��For more details on that, plus a free printable poster I created for you to remind you to take one meal a day outside, hop over here:

Grounding While You Eat, A Game Changer For Your Digestion (+ Freebies)

 

 

 

 

6. If you are having trouble sleeping, try this: Look up at the night sky.

 

One of my favorite ways to ground ��� especially when I���ve been too busy to ground all day long ��� is to ground on my way up to bed, standing outside looking up at the stars and moon. Turning my gaze upwards, reconnecting with the wonder of being a human being standing on a rock that spirals through space and seeing the earth for the vast support network it is, feeling your place in this mysterious beautiful alive universe, can���t help but lift your spirits for the better. Doing it while grounded helps even more, as grounding helps deepen sleep and allows the sleep you do get to be even more restorative, letting you get deep recovery from stress.

So if realize you are carrying the stress of the day into bed with you, stop. Go outside and look up. When the rest of the world is shut up tight at bedtime, taking a few minutes to ground outside under the night sky is wonderful for clearing the mind, grabbing a few minutes of beautiful fresh air, and preparing your body for sleep.

 

 

 

 

7. If you are feeling anxious, try this: Go on a walk.

 

Movement gives your body a natural opioid fix, and other neurotransmitters get a boost too. Endorphins decrease pain and boost a feeling of wellness, serotonin improves mood and decreases anxiety, and anandamides decrease stress.

If you are feeling anxious, with pent up nervous energy, move that beautiful body of yours! Do it grounded and you will be adding an even deeper level of support from the earth that will decrease anxiety and help you feel more centered. Go on a walk barefoot, even if that is just up and down a small patch of grass or a few squares of sidewalk. If you can���t go on a walk barefoot, sit grounded outside and move your body in other ways, like giving yourself a foot or neck massage, or doing a few yoga stretches.

Grounding helps move the body from fight or flight mode towards feeling calm and safe. If you feel a panic attack approaching, stop everything and touch the earth. Pull over if you are driving, go outside if you are home or at work or in a crowded shop or restaurant and let the stability of the earth ease your panic and calm your anxiety with its power.

For more information on how grounding supports your muscles and movements (and even recovery from exercise) hop over here to read the article I wrote for you, along with a free printable poster to remind you to go outside and move your body each day:

What Grounding Does To Your Muscles

 

 

 

 

Grounding is an instantly accessible healing tool that can provide immediate support during periods of stress no matter where you are or what you are doing. Whether it���s just a few deep breaths as you sit on a patch of grass, taking a walk through a local park, or standing outside at night looking up at the stars… grounding supports your outlook and stabilizes the body.

The earth is waiting out there to center and support you.

So the next time you are having a panic attack, or a pounding tension headache from stress, or a knot of worry grow in your stomach, just go outside. Get out there. Don���t force anything, just touch the earth and let nature work its magic. The earth can hold even your worst of days and remain an immovable source of strength.

The effects of grounding the human body start instantly, so there is no time too short for getting grounded ��� if it can only be 30 seconds, so be it. ��If it can be 15 min, or 30��minutes, all the better.

If you have one rock outside you can touch, one blade of grass (even a weed!) you can touch, one leaf on a tree or bush outside, one corner of a cement driveway or garage or one square inch of sidewalk you can stand on, you can be instantly grounded. ��Even in an urban location, or in the winter, or when you travel… you can and should get grounded outside.

 

Want more inspiration to make grounding into a daily health routine?

 

 

Just like brushing your teeth or wearing a seatbelt, grounding is another one of those non-negotiable health care practices. ��So I���ve got you.

I wrote��The Earth Prescription��to tell you about how to get outside not matter what the season, no matter what the weather, no matter what the location, no matter if you have green spaces outside or not, no matter if you have 5 minutes or 5 hours to ground, urban settings, winter temperatures, no matter what the circumstance.

It���s an easy, uplifting read filled with tons of��easily actionable ways to stay connected to our planet and boost your health during 2022 and beyond. ��Order signed copies directly from me right here, or find it anywhere books are sold.

Order On AmazonOrder On Barnes & NobleOrder On IndieboundTo your resilient mind and body…xoxox, Laura Koniver MD

 

 

The post 7 Quick Ways The Earth Can Reset Your Mood Whenever You Need It appeared first on Intuition Physician.

The Real Reason Grounding Works: The Healing Power of the Earth, Finally Explained

 

 

 

Today’s video contains possibly the most important information since the “re-discovery” of grounding in the first place… it’s finally answering the question: how does grounding work?

All I’ve read about in the popular media is a mysterious “electron transfer” which actually can not be directly measured.  Want to truly understand grounding way beyond an electron reaching you?   Just watch the video below and I’ll tell you myself.

In a nutshell: every single part of the natural universe conducts a natural energy current known as a Direct Current (DC). This DC circuit of energy flows through everything, including plants, animals, human beings, and the surface of our entire planet, creating a Global Electrical Circuit.

This natural DC energy is also what the human body uses to function, as everything from the beating of our heart to the movement of our muscles to our brain’s ability to think all requires DC energy.

So anything conductive (like our human body) that touches the earth instantly becomes part of this natural energy circuit.  You plug yourself into this healing energy, literally. So grounding is simply including your conductive human body into that global DC electrical circuit, which puts your body in a profound healing state.

If that sounds confusing, I created a simple, straight forward video to help.

Let me explain this better for you, and talk you through exactly how to do it, and for how long, just click the video below to watch:

 

 

 

The REAL Reason Grounding Works (click here to watch on YouTube)

 

 

 

Studies so far suggest that becoming a part of the earth’s global DC circuit enhances our conductive health, which has far reaching implications to all our organ systems that function off of DC energy and conductivity, including but not limited to: our central and peripheral nervous system, our musculoskeletal system, and our cardiovascular system.

Here are some of the free articles I’ve written for you telling you about those medical studies and ways you can use the healing power of grounding to support your own health:

How to Ground Outside In Winter (Yes, You Can! I’ll Show You How)A Super Quick, Easy Way To Make Grounding More PowerfulGrounding, A Natural Antidote To EMFs (+ free printable)How Grounding Protects Your Body From Trauma And StressMy Favorite 7 Health Benefits To Women When They Get GroundedHow Grounding Helps Protect Your Heart Function For A LifetimeWhy Gardening Has Additional Benefits, On Top Of Time Spent GroundingWhy Hearing Birds Sing Is So Healing (An Additional Perk Of Grounding!)The Secret Behind A “Grounding Detox” — What Your Symptoms Are Really Telling YouThe Healing Power Of Grounded TouchA New Study Explains How Grounding Can Dramatically Boost Your Mood10 Ways Grounding Can Directly Support Your Health During A PandemicElectrosensitivity and Grounding: How To Protect Your Conductive HealthIs Going Outside Part Of Your Daily Health Routine? 8 Reasons Why It’s EssentialKnowing What Won’t Ground You Outside Is As Important As Knowing What Will10 Indoor Activities You Should Take Outside And Do GroundedHow Grounding Releases Trauma From Your Body To Protect Your Long Term HealthYour 20 Toughest Grounding Questions, Answered.Feel Immediate Relief With Grounding: Relax Your Muscles, Strengthen Your BonesYour Brain On Mother EarthGrounding To Support Your Heart HealthA Grounding Detox?  Nope, you are actually electrosensitive. Here’s How To Ground SafelyHow To Get The Purest Ground ConnectionLargest Study On Cell Phone Radiation, Here’s What You Need To KnowHow Grounding Promotes Weight Loss… With Zero EffortGrounding Indoors Through A Potted Plant — Yes, It’s Possible!Grounding Immediately Supports Your Heart & Boosts CirculationThe Latest Grounding Study + An Easy Way To Make Grounding More EffectiveGrounding Balances Your Hormones Automatically (Plus 6 More Ideas)Grounding Instantly Helps Your Brain, Mood, and SleepHow Grounding Supports Your Muscles, Joints And BonesWhy Grounding Specifically Helps With Chronic ConditionsThe Latest Study To Prove That Grounding Improves HealthThe Hidden Benefits Of Grounding: Why It Helps More Than Just Your BodyThe Ultimate Indoor Grounding Guide: What To Use & When To Use ItHow To Prevent Bug Bites While Grounding OutdoorsWhy Grounding Is My Favorite Healing ModalityImmediate Healing Support That Works For EveryoneFree Grounding Idea Book

Prefer to listen?

Here are some podcasts where I’ve been interviewed on the healing power of grounding:

Global Wellness Symposium: Grounding Q&A with Dr. KoniverEnhance Your Health With Grounding (Holistic Wellness and Wisdom Podcast)Tune Into Your Intuition For Greater Health (Alternative Talk Radio)When You Are Struggling To Listen To Your Intuition (podcast on Fill Your Cup)Docking Your Body To The Earth:  Intuition & Grounding (podcast on Joyous Health)The Power Of Grounding: Release Anxiety & Decrease Depression (podcast on Mental Health News Radio)The Restorative Powers of Connecting To The Earth (podcast on New Dimensions Radio)The Restorative Powers of Connecting To The Earth (Apple podcast)The Healing Connection To The Earth with Dr. Laura Koniver (podcast on London Heals)Electrohypersensitivity with Dr. Laura Koniver (podcast on Real Rover)Three Secrets To Grounding That Most People Don’t Know (podcast on Rosebud Woman) Using Earth Grounding To Soothe Your System (podcast on Wisdom for Wellbeing)

And lastly, here are some additional links to the medical literature on grounding:

Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine Strategies Should Include EarthingThe Effect of Sleeping Grounded On Recovery After ExertionGrounding To Decrease High Blood PressureGrounding To Prevent Stress And Oxidative Damage While At WorkGrounding & Reduced Muscle Soreness Medical StudyGrounding, Sleep & Cortisol Repair StudyGrounding and Heart Rate Variability (HRV)Grounding and Zeta Potential (on your red blood cells)Grounding And The Human Body’s Biochemical ResponseMedical Overview On Grounding Studies Effects of Grounding on Body Voltage and Current in the Presence of EMFsGrounding the Human Body Reduces Blood ViscosityEmotional Stress and GroundingMetabolic Changes After Only 40 Minutes Of GroundingMedical Thermography Images When GroundingGrounding Decreases Muscle Damage After ExerciseElectric Nutrition: The Healing Benefits of Biological GroundingGrounding At Work Decreases FatigueElectrical Grounding Improves Vagal Tone in Preterm InfantsThe Natural Ground Current That Flows Through The Body At The BeachOne-Hour Of Grounding Improves Inflammation and Blood FlowThe Effect of Grounding the Human Body on MoodGrounding the Human Body during YogaThe Effects of Grounding on Chronic Inflammatory and Autoimmune DiseasesGrounding the Human Body Improves Facial Blood FlowDifferences in Blood Urea and Creatinine Concentrations After GroundingResearch Review: Health Implications of Reconnecting the Human Body to the Earth’s Surface Electrons −Journal of Environmental and Public HealthThe Neuromodulative Role of GroundingGrounding The Human Body Influences Physiologic Processes.

Please share today’s video and these resources with someone who wants to have a deeper understanding of why they should head outside today and touch the earth.

Get out there an enjoy healing!

xoxox,

Laura Koniver MD

PS — I have many more holistic health videos waiting for you right here on my YouTube Channel,

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The post The Real Reason Grounding Works: The Healing Power of the Earth, Finally Explained appeared first on Intuition Physician.

The Real Reason Grounding Works, Finally Explained

 

 

 

Today’s video contains possibly the most important information since the “re-discovery” of grounding in the first place… it’s finally answering the question: how does grounding work?

All I’ve read about in the popular media is a mysterious “electron transfer” which actually can not be directly measured. ��Want to truly understand grounding way beyond an electron reaching you? �� Just watch the video below and I’ll tell you myself.

In a nutshell: every single part of the natural universe conducts a natural energy current known as a Direct Current (DC). This DC circuit of energy flows through everything, including plants, animals, human beings, and the surface of our entire planet, creating a Global Electrical Circuit.

This natural DC energy is also what the human body uses to function, as everything from the beating of our heart to the movement of our muscles to our brain���s ability to think all requires DC energy.

So anything conductive (like our human body) that touches the earth instantly becomes part of this natural energy circuit. ��You plug yourself into this healing energy, literally. So grounding is simply including your conductive human body into that global DC electrical circuit, which puts your body in a profound healing state.

If that sounds confusing, I created a simple, straight forward video to help.

Let me explain this better for you, and talk you through exactly how to do it, and for how long, just click the video below to watch:

 

 

 

The REAL Reason Grounding Works (click here to watch on YouTube)

 

 

 

Studies so far suggest that becoming a part of the earth���s global DC circuit enhances our conductive health, which has far reaching implications to all our organ systems that function off of DC energy and conductivity, including but not limited to: our central and peripheral nervous system, our musculoskeletal system, and our cardiovascular system.

Here are some of the free articles I’ve written for you telling you about those medical studies and ways you can use the healing power of grounding to support your own health:

How to Ground Outside In Winter (Yes, You Can! I���ll Show You How)A Super Quick, Easy Way To Make Grounding More PowerfulGrounding, A Natural Antidote To EMFs (+ free printable)How Grounding Protects Your Body From Trauma And StressMy Favorite 7 Health Benefits To Women When They Get GroundedHow Grounding Helps Protect Your Heart Function For A LifetimeWhy Gardening Has Additional Benefits, On Top Of Time Spent GroundingWhy Hearing Birds Sing Is So Healing (An Additional Perk Of Grounding!)The Secret Behind A ���Grounding Detox��� ��� What Your Symptoms Are Really Telling YouThe Healing Power Of Grounded TouchA New Study Explains How Grounding Can Dramatically Boost Your Mood10 Ways Grounding Can Directly Support Your Health During A PandemicElectrosensitivity and Grounding: How To Protect Your Conductive HealthIs Going Outside Part Of Your Daily Health Routine? 8 Reasons Why It���s EssentialKnowing What Won���t Ground You Outside Is As Important As Knowing What Will10 Indoor Activities You Should Take Outside And Do GroundedHow Grounding Releases Trauma From Your Body To Protect Your Long Term HealthYour 20 Toughest Grounding Questions, Answered.Feel Immediate Relief With Grounding: Relax Your Muscles, Strengthen Your BonesYour Brain On Mother EarthGrounding To Support Your Heart HealthA Grounding Detox? ��Nope, you are actually electrosensitive. Here���s How To Ground SafelyHow To Get The Purest Ground ConnectionLargest Study On Cell Phone Radiation, Here���s What You Need To KnowHow Grounding Promotes Weight Loss��� With Zero EffortGrounding Indoors Through A Potted Plant ��� Yes, It���s Possible!Grounding Immediately Supports Your Heart & Boosts CirculationThe Latest Grounding Study + An Easy Way To Make Grounding More EffectiveGrounding Balances Your Hormones Automatically (Plus 6 More Ideas)Grounding Instantly Helps Your Brain, Mood, and SleepHow Grounding Supports Your Muscles, Joints And BonesWhy Grounding Specifically Helps With Chronic ConditionsThe Latest Study To Prove That Grounding Improves HealthThe Hidden Benefits Of Grounding: Why It Helps More Than Just Your BodyThe Ultimate Indoor Grounding Guide: What To Use & When To Use ItHow To Prevent Bug Bites While Grounding OutdoorsWhy Grounding Is My Favorite Healing ModalityImmediate Healing Support That Works For EveryoneFree Grounding Idea Book

Prefer to listen?

Here are some podcasts where I’ve been interviewed on the healing power of grounding:

Global Wellness Symposium: Grounding Q&A with Dr. KoniverEnhance Your Health With Grounding (Holistic Wellness and��Wisdom Podcast)Tune Into Your Intuition For Greater Health (Alternative Talk Radio)When You Are Struggling To Listen To Your Intuition (podcast on Fill Your Cup)Docking Your Body To The Earth: ��Intuition & Grounding (podcast on Joyous Health)The Power Of Grounding: Release Anxiety & Decrease Depression (podcast on Mental Health News Radio)The Restorative Powers of Connecting To The Earth (podcast on New Dimensions Radio)The Restorative Powers of Connecting To The Earth (Apple podcast)The Healing Connection To The Earth with Dr. Laura Koniver (podcast on London Heals)Electrohypersensitivity with Dr. Laura Koniver (podcast on Real Rover)Three Secrets To Grounding That Most People Don���t Know (podcast on Rosebud Woman)��Using Earth Grounding To Soothe Your System (podcast on Wisdom for Wellbeing)

And lastly, here are some additional links to the medical literature on grounding:

Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine Strategies Should Include EarthingThe Effect of Sleeping Grounded On Recovery After ExertionGrounding To Decrease High Blood PressureGrounding To Prevent��Stress And Oxidative Damage While At WorkGrounding & Reduced Muscle Soreness Medical StudyGrounding, Sleep & Cortisol Repair StudyGrounding and Heart Rate Variability (HRV)Grounding and Zeta Potential (on your red blood cells)Grounding And The Human Body���s Biochemical ResponseMedical Overview On Grounding Studies��Effects of Grounding on Body Voltage and Current��in the Presence of EMFsGrounding the Human Body Reduces Blood ViscosityEmotional Stress��and��GroundingMetabolic Changes��After Only 40 Minutes Of GroundingMedical Thermography Images When GroundingGrounding Decreases Muscle Damage After ExerciseElectric Nutrition: The Healing Benefits of Biological GroundingGrounding At Work Decreases FatigueElectrical Grounding Improves Vagal Tone in Preterm InfantsThe Natural Ground Current That Flows Through The Body At The BeachOne-Hour Of Grounding Improves Inflammation and Blood FlowThe Effect of Grounding the Human Body on MoodGrounding the Human Body during YogaThe Effects of Grounding on Chronic Inflammatory and Autoimmune DiseasesGrounding the Human Body Improves Facial Blood FlowDifferences in Blood Urea and Creatinine Concentrations After GroundingResearch Review: Health Implications of Reconnecting the Human Body to the Earth���s Surface Electrons ���Journal of Environmental and Public HealthThe Neuromodulative Role of��GroundingGrounding The Human Body Influences Physiologic Processes.

Please share today’s video and these resources with someone who wants to have a deeper understanding of why they should head outside today and touch the earth.

Get out there an enjoy healing!

xoxox,

Laura Koniver MD

PS —��I have many more holistic health videos waiting for you right here on my YouTube Channel,

or you can join me here as well:

YouTubePinterestFacebookInstagramTikTok

 

 

The post The Real Reason Grounding Works, Finally Explained appeared first on Intuition Physician.

Moving Your Body Helps Your Brain Function Better, Immediately. Here’s How

 

 

A recent medical study caught my eye, so today I am excited to share it with you here. �� Researchers were looking at how movement helps to boost memory, and found that there are literally immediate benefits to your memory function after exercising just once.

Published September 2020 in Scientific Reports, this study finds that one session of exercising (cycling on a stationary bike was the exercise used in this study) significantly improved motor sequence memory ��� immediately!

This is super encouraging, because it was not looking at just the long term benefits from exercise (which of course has far reaching protective health effects, that I will go through below) but suggests that even if all you can do is one single episode of ��exercise, you will get immediate brain benefits, that very day.

 

 

 

 

So today���s uplifting health tip is to use exercise as a way to focus before a mental task.

Some examples might include:

walking up and down a flight of stairs quickly before giving a presentation at workdoing a few jumping jacks in the office before writing an important emailplaying a game of frisbee with friends just before settling down to study for college examsencouraging your kids to jump on a trampoline before hopping on the school bus each morning.

 

And although just one session of exercising provides benefit, ideally it would be even better to sprinkle movement throughout your entire day.

It could be as simple as standing up and walking around a bit every hour or two, getting in some gentle stretching routines in throughout the day, walking up and down your stairs if you have them, and/or doing a before-bed yoga routine��to reap massive benefits.

For those that want to read a good medical study summarizing this, I highly recommend you hop over to read this medical report published in 2015:�� Sitting At Home Is Deadly. ��Meanwhile, see if you can come up with a way to move your body:

upon waking in the morningas a mid morning breakas a mid day breakas a mid afternoon breakand end with��a before-bed stretch.

 

Consider if any of these 7 ideas may be added to your daily routine:

 

 

 

 

Idea #1: Morning Stretch

 

Develop a stretch routine that you do when you first wake up, before even starting your day.

Once you get into a habit of morning stretching, you will realize how much this impacts your entire day and you���ll never want to skip this again.

Getting into a morning and evening stretch routine is just one of the many many ways that you can actually benefit for the rest of your life from self care routines that you start during quarantine. �� Seriously! ��I honestly believe that if we take this time while under social distancing precautions to focus on developing healthy routines and self care strategies, we will actually be healthier for our entire lives than if we would not have had this pandemic.

To get ideas of stretches that feel good for you, here is a great YouTube video that includes some of my personal favorites, and is only 10 minutes long. ��Take what you like from these suggestions and create your own routine that you will stick with:

Morning Stretch (YouTube)

If you prefer looking at stretch suggestions instead of watching a video, this page has 4 great stretches for you:

4 Morning Stretches (Self)

And then you can add these 6 on to create a simple 10 stretch routine to start your day:

6 Morning Stretches (The Chalkboard)

 

 

 

Idea #2: Mid-Morning Walk

 

If at all possible, I highly encourage you to go outside mid morning and mid afternoon on a walk. ��Do as little or as much as you like, anything is absolutely better than nothing.

Walk the sidewalks of your��neighborhood,��walk the perimeter of your yard or driveway if you have one, walk back and forth to your mailbox several times,��walk any neighborhood trails if you have them.

If you can not even go outside on a walk, find a pattern to loop inside of your home, going in and out of each room or simply up and down hallways.

Aim for at least 10 minutes of walking in each session, more if you can.

 

 

 

 

Idea #3: Mid-Day Steps

 

An easy way to get more movement into your day without needing a gym membership is to seek out a flight of stairs, or even one single step if that is all you have.

You can walk up and down the steps leading to your front door, any steps you have inside your home if you live in a multi-story house, any steps that you have leading to your parking area or garage, or any steps you might have in your neighborhood.

Even if all you can find is one step, you can so some great calve strengthening exercises on that one step alone��� a great mid-day pick me up.

Here are some ideas:

Stair Exercises (Mayo Clinic)Staircase Workout (Healthline)

 

 

 

Idea #4: Mid-Afternoon Walk

 

Repeat the same walk you did mid-morning (see above) or find a new way to walk ��� for example, if you walked around your neighborhood in the mid-morning while it was cool, you may wish to stay inside and loop your living room or office a dozen times in the heat of the afternoon. ��Or vice versa! ��Just keep moving for at least 10 minutes.

 

 

 

 

Idea #5: Before Bed Yoga Stretches

 

Never head to bed without stretching your body out ��� releasing tension from the day and giving your muscles one more deep release. ��If you enjoy following a video, here is a great one:

10 Minute Bedtime Yoga (YouTube)

If you prefer reading over a written list of stretches (with pictures)��here is my favorite set ��� this is one is very similar to the routine I��do each night before I go to bed myself!

7 Bedtime Stretches (Hello Glow)

 

 

 

 

 

Idea #6: Invite Heat Into Your Muscles

 

There have been so many studies recently looking at the health benefits of routine sauna. ��Sauna increases the circulation of blood all throughout your body ��� getting the blood pumping through your cardiovascular system, your muscles, your skin, your joints, your brain ��� so it turns out that routine sauna has many of the same health benefits that exercise does.

So if you have mobility issues or find that your job makes moving your body��through the day impossible�����sauna is a great substitute (or addition) to any wellness plan. ��In fact, sauna actually helps protect brain function and routine sauna is correlated with over a 60% reduction in dementia risk! ��I write about that for you here: ��Sauna To Protect Your Brain

You may also want to read��more about how routine sauna is correlated with a longer lifespan, which I review for you here: ��Sauna For A Longer Lifespan

Even better if you can do a combination of sauna and then grounding, which and friend and I demonstrate for you in a video. ��Hop on over to watch! ����Sauna + Grounding, A Win-Win Combo

If you don���t have access to a sauna (and let���s face it, most of us don���t) you can still use this healing principle to��invite heat into your body in other ways.

Pick one of these ways (or use them all!) and write it down in your��worksheet so you remember to use it:

a microwavable rice pack to wrap around neck and shouldersa��hot water bottle to place on stiff lower back musclesa 15 minute hot bath with magnesium salts to relax all musclesa 5 minute hot shower to release tension from head to toe

I love a hot bath every few nights, as well as wrapping a hot rice pack around my neck whenever I feel muscle tension��throughout the day ��� you can buy these online but��if you are crafty you may��even enjoy��making��your own out of an old hand towel and a bag of rice:

DIY Heated Neck Wrap (The Art Of Doing Stuff)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Idea #7: Body Work

 

The feeling of worry and stress and anxiety is often the stress of energy that is accumulating in the body without release.

I know I personally feel this as a ball of pressure right in my solar plexus, as well and incredibly painful tension in my shoulders and neck��� but where stress shows up for you in your body is different for everyone.

Irritability, crying, headaches, diarrhea, nausea, tension, muscle stiffness, decreased or increased appetite, weight loss or gain, insomnia��� often these all represent energy that just needs to be released to make room for the natural healing process and optimism and energy��to return.

If you are feeling stuck and in need of physical release, along with movement and heat like we addressed above, body work can��help assist your body in letting go of stress.

If you have a partner, take turns giving massages to each other. ��But you absolutely can perform��wonderful self massage��techniques that release tension from your neck, shoulders, hands and feet on your own too. ��Just click on one of the videos below and follow along!

Self Massage: Head and Neck (YouTube)Self Massage: Hand��(YouTube)Self Massage: Foot (YouTube)

 

 

 

 

 

Not able to exercise? ��There are other ways to keep your mind open and your brain sharp.

There is actual medical evidence that the more you are self motivated when learning something, the better your brain works. ��No exercise involved! ��Simply being curious can actually improve brain function.

Published October 22, 2014 in��Neuron, researchers found that having your own internal motivation, in the form of curiosity, allows your brain to have enhanced memory and function�����allowing you to more quickly��master the information��you are trying to learn��and even enhances your ability to remember non-related information alongside it!

Researchers looked at brain function on MRI when the subject was highly curious about the material they were engaged in, and found that being curious about something literally changes the way the your brain functions, enhancing key parts of the brain such as the hippocampus and the dopaminergic circuit.

Curiosity about life in general enhances your experience of life itself, opening you up to new things and enhancing your ability to absorb it. ��So it���s not as much about completing a task as directed, or rote memorization of material, or getting a specific test score on an exam in school that allows you to truly learn. ��It���s about following your inner guidance system, engaging in your own innate curiosity, and allowing that to guide you in making educational and career choices that align your soul gifts with your occupation.

Ideally what you are offering to this world is something that is perfectly suited to you because you are self motivated to learn about it, master the material related and ancillary to it, and offering this unique vantage point that only you can offer back to the world. ��In short, learning and processing and giving your thoughts back to the world��becomes��meaningful, instead of simply memorized. ��That study shows that you are naturally suited to learn, retain and remember information that you are self selecting, motivated, and innately��curious about it.

Need some help discovering (or re-discovering) your natural curiosity?

That���s normal, because the way our��educational��system and corporate work��system is set up, it minimizes personal autonomy and creativity.��But you have it inside of you. ��Watch this video for inspiration to give yourself permission to become curious��again, and then keep reading��below for links to tons of resources of fun, learning, and growth!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Idea #1: Learn A New Language

 

Do you have a bucket list of trips you want to take?

A perfect way to prepare for future adventures, and keep your brain sharp at the same time, is to sign up for one of the many free language classes that are offered online����� there are literally��thousands��of different languages you can master.

It may help to learn a language with a friend to stay motivated. ��Not only can you both sign up for the online classes together, but you can call or FaceTime each other to practice speaking it out loud as you learn, and then you can have the fun of planning a future trip together for an immersive experience, visiting an area where your chosen language is spoken! ��Win-win-win!

Free language classes at DuolingoFree language classes at OpenCultureFree language classes at LearnALanguage10 Min A Day classes at Busuu

 

 

 

 

 

Idea #2: Reduce Job Stress

 

Stress on the job is such a real threat to your health that I think you should take it into account when figuring out your future. ��One medical study shows that��stress on the job might literally drive you crazy. ��This study,��published in Lancet Psychiatry on May 10, 2018, suggests that occupation alone might cause as many as one out of every 7 new cases of depression, anxiety, and other common mental disorders.

Even after adjusting for lifestyle factors, stressful life events, temperament, personality, family history and personal history of mental illness, researchers found that job strain alone was responsible for a statistically significant number of mental illness cases over a lifetime.

14% of all common mental disorders that onset in midlife was attributed��purely to job stress.

Researchers looked at over 6,800 participants, ranking job strain at age 45 with risk of mental illness at age 50. ��The results were astounding:

Having a job that is highly demanding increased mental diagnosis rates by 70%.Having a job that causes high strain (moves at a fast pace, or is highly risky, for example) increased mental diagnosis rates by 220%.Having a job in which the employee had very little control over decisions increased mental illness rates by 89%.All in all, researchers estimate that simply having higher job stress increased the overall likelihood of subsequent mental illness significantly, accounting for 1 out of every 7 new cases of mental illness in midlife.

Forget the usually-thought-of triggers such as divorce, bereavement and serious medical issues��� job strain alone can put you at significant risk for mental disorders.

What constitutes a stressful job?

A job that requires high intensity, a job that moves at a fast pace, a job that has high risk, a job that gives you very little control over your duties, and/or a job that doesn���t allow you to make your own decisions were all factors that contributed to job strain.

If you are thinking��� yes my job is stressful but I really love it, unfortunately that���s not enough.

Job satisfaction was not protective of the strain that job stress can put on mental health. ��Although ideally we would all have meaningful soul satisfying jobs��� even when they are super fulfilling soul careers, they can actually still be toxic, stressful, high paced, and put us at high risk for mental illness.

And let���s face it, many times jobs simply are not in the slightest bit soul fulfilling at all and yet still are so stressful that they raise mental illness diagnosis, all for a job you don���t even enjoy. ��But there are ways to help protect yourself and your mental state.

Here are some ideas to help you decrease the negative effect of job stress on your health:

1. ��Factor job strain into your career choices early on whenever possible: ��If you have a family history or a personal history of mental illness, it is absolutely imperative that you protect your mental health by choosing jobs that give you autonomy, or at least allow you to participate in decision making. Or��� if you want to work in a tightly regulated job field where you don���t get to have control over the decisions, then select a job where the pace is slow and relaxed and/or the job is low intensity, low stakes. If one out of every 7 cases of mental illness in midlife comes from having a stressful job, it is absolutely something to take into account when selecting between several possible career pathways. ��Look for a job that allows you to be a part of the decision making process, or look for a job with lower intensity and a slower pace if you have an option and want to be protective of your mental health.

2. ��Modify existing job parameters: ��If you are already in a stressful job that you want to stay in, consider small ways to modify your current stress levels at work. There are three different ways you can lighten your job strain: increasing your autonomy (getting to make more job related decisions,) lightening the pace of the job, or lightning the demands on the job. ��Even choosing just one way to modify your current work load, even just slight modification, can help reduce mental illness risk:

Ask to be part of decisions whenever possible��� if there are committees to be involved in, if there are meetings you can speak up during, if there are opportunities for a leadership role ��� this study shows that even in a highly stressful job, having some sort of say in what decisions are made allows the job to cause less strain over all.Negotiate terms whenever possible��� not just the classic example of asking for a raise, but speaking up over anything you can��� such as negotiating when you take a break, what shift you work, what snacks are stocked in the vending machine, or what the dress code is can help give you some say in your work day and reduce strain.If you can���t make decision and you can negotiate terms, sharing the burden is another way to reduce job strain. ��Asking for help, getting co-workers involved, turning individual tasks into group tasks, forming alliances, delegating and and all tasks that you can delegate ��� these are all ways to reduce job strain even in jobs that are highly stressful and where you have little control.

3. ��Recover fully when not at work: ��Create clear boundaries around time spent working vs. time spent not-working each day. ��One of the worst habits you can get into is working on your time off. ��I should know, doctors are the classic ���on call��� occupation but every doctor I know makes this occupational stress a hundred times worse by bringing work home even when not on call. ��I have strained myself beyond capacity for years (decades actually) staying up in the middle of the night on my computer, returning emails from my phone at the wee hours of the morning, packing and shipping shop orders literally around the clock��� I even worked all day the day my��appendix was rupturing, had emergency surgery in the middle of the night, and by the next day was back to packing up orders.��Which was totally stupid, I know (I blog about this here.) ��I not only risked��delaying my healing process but I was still groggy from the surgical��anesthesia so I mixed up quite a few of those orders, and then had the��hassle of having to redo them.����I should have stayed in bed.

I know I am not alone. ��In many ��� if not most ��� jobs these days, there really are no designated off hours since technology can reach us anywhere, and this can create a situation where there is no down time, no recovery time, no off time. ��So you have to be proactive and protective to ensure ��� for your own mental health ��� that there absolutely *is* time off from work and time away from all work related activity. ��If you are in a job that you can���t modify, can���t control, has high stress, and little autonomy, then the next best thing you can do to protect your mental and physical health is to make sure off hours are actually off hours.

Make it harder to access work related tasks��� leave your computer at work (if you work from home, leave your computer in a designated *home office* space and do not bring it into the rest of the house!)Put cell phones on airplane mode at night, or better yet turn them off completely.Designate a cut off time in the evening where you will no longer check emails or return business related calls.Prioritize sleep.Make the sleep you do get more restorative by sleeping grounded.Move your body in a non-job related way: exercise, stretch, get into a yoga routine, go on a long walk, have sex, even simple taking a hot bath in Epsom salts will help soothe tense muscles and get you out of ���work mode.���Read a book that is absolutely 100% simply for pleasure and *not work related!!!*. I���m the worst at this because I typically read medical journals before bedtime instead of romance or mystery novels but this is one of my new goals.Schedule time for leisure activities ��� from a designated weekly movie night to a routine family date to time alone ��� off time is so crucial for balancing out the stress from your job and should be given the same weight (or even more weight) than your dedication to your career.Take time for friendships and relationships that are not in any way work related. ��Consider this��� are most of your relationships with people in the same work place or career path as you? ��Be sure to go out of your way to nurture friendships and relationships that have nothing to do with work at all ��� if you have to join a knitting club or a book club or sign up for a gym class or introduce yourself to your neighbors ��� meet people that it would be literally impossible to ���talk shop��� with in your down time because they do not work with you. ��Having outside interests and outside relationships apart from work helps ensure you don���t think about or talk about work in your off time.Take vacation time ��� up to 1/3 of all vacation days are simply never even used!!!! ��What the���? ��No way. ��Please take those vacation days, every single one of them.

4. ��Be proactive about protecting your mental health in other ways: ��Particularly if you know you have high job strain, you want to be sure you are eating foods, taking supplements, staying well hydrated, sleep well, and many other things you can do ��� even if you can���t modify your current job in the slightest ��� that will boost your mental health. ��To that end, here are more blog posts I���ve written for you on holistic ways to support your mental health:

Your Healing Mantra for 2021Your Body Is Continually Speaking To You. Here���s How To Listen To It.17 Ways To Naturally Decrease Your Stress (+ A Few Freebies To Help)4 Easy Ways To Use Your Breath To Feel Instantly Better ��� Do Them With Me Right NowYour History Of Trauma Is Making This Pandemic Harder On You Than OthersMedical Decisions Can Be Overwhelming, Here���s An Easy Tool To Help (+ free printable)Need To Boost Your Hopefulness? I���ve Got YouWhat You Eat Is Making Your Anxiety WorseMissing Just One Hour Of Sleep Skyrockets Your Risk Of Depression, AnxietyAnxiety Doubles Cancer Mortality. It Doesn���t Have To��� Here���s How.Reducing Background Anxiety Increases Mental Clarity: Here���s HowDisrupted Day/Night Rhythm Increases Mental Illness Rates2 New Treatments For PTSD You Can Use Right Now To Feel Immediatley Better.Grounding Instantly Helps Your Brain, Mood, and SleepIncredibly Powerful Alternatives To AntidepressantsThat WorkA Sense Of Purpose In Life Medically Proven To Help Your Body Stay Younger��� 9 Powerful Ways To Do ItSleep Increases Your Recovery From DepressionResolving PTSD, OCD, Tobacco and Drug Addiction Too5 Things You Can Do To Naturally Lift DepressionA Supplement So Good For The Brain It Can Prevent PsychosisEmotional Stress Directly Predicts Heart Attack��� 10 Ways To Prevent ItOCD May Stem From Birth Trauma

 

 

Idea #3: Take An Online Health Class (With Me!)

 

I���ve got several health classes coming up this summer and fall ��� keeping you feeling uplifted, supported and inspired, even protecting your brain by learning new healing information that you feel motivated to learn!

Here is a list of my next 6 classes, you can sign up for any (or all!) of them today:

 

 

 

 

August 29th: Trauma Resiliency Online Class

 

I can���t think of a better use of your time than to deeply focus on your own healing, and healing past wounds and traumas. ��As a holistic physician, not only have I scoured the medical literature for positive, actionable ways to help our bodies and minds heal from stressful, unavoidable trauma, but I share detailed ways to guide you through your own healing (along with both personal and patient examples from my past 20 years of medical practice.)

No matter what you have gone through, you absolutely do have the ability to rebound from from it and create a new normal and a new health set point. ��Everybody does. ��Your body naturally wants to trend back to full and complete wellness��� mind, body and spirit. ��I���ll give you the tools to get there.

This class has been hugely helpful in giving participants actionable, positive, enjoyable healing tools that are medically based and proven to work.

One participant who just took my online classes said that the content��on the very first day of the class alone��far exceeded what she thought she would get out of the entire class, all put together.Another participant said she felt movement on old stuck traumas from childhood��for the first time in her entire life.Another said that even though he had been in treatment for PTSD for years, he learned things he had never been told before about how the body holds on to trauma and how to let it go.

I would love to support you in this exact same way as well. ��Join me��here.

 

 

 

 

September 12th: Expand Your Intuition Online Class

 

Almost all of us are��intuitively open and don���t even know it, so we feel drained by our��ability to pick up on intuitive information, instead of empowered by it.

You might find yourself exhausted after interactions with others or time spent in crowded places. ��Or maybe you don���t feel you have any intuitive capabilities at all, but you���ve always wanted to. ��Let me reassure you that you do ��� we all do ��� it���s in our biology��� and I���ll help you find it.

I created this class to help you uncover and strengthen your intuitive, empathetic nature. ��Because the more you know about how to work with your intuition, the more powerful you feel and the stronger you are��from tapping into it��� not weakened or exhausted by it.

This class is a��4 week long, online class. ��In it, I personally share with you exactly how I dropped out of the constricting conventional world around me and opened up to a whole new level of intuitive guidance.

Have you ever wanted to receive, honor, and actively make decisions based��upon your own intuitions?Have you ever wanted to use intuition in your own health care?Have you ever wanted to use intuition to make your daily life go more smoothly?Have you ever wanted to feel more empowered by your intuitive, empathic gifts��� instead of drained by them?

I want that for you too!!! ��

So, I lead a private class to help you do just that.��This class is a *must* for all empaths who find their energy affected or drained by others.�� I���ll teach you how to become more resilient and strong by tapping into your intuitive gifts, instead of buffering yourself from others or playing small. ��Join me here.

 

 

 

 

October 17: Earth Connect Online Class.

 

Now is exactly when we need the healing support of the earth most of all. ��Grounding will help you keep your immunity high, your inflammation low, reduce stress, deepen sleep, and boost your mood��� making you more resilient to the stressors in your life.

I developed this class to give you tons and tons of ways to incorporate grounding into your daily health care and wellness routines, so that no matter where you live ��� yard or no yard, urban or rural, heat of summer or cold of winter ��� you can find ways to stay connected to the earth.

Our planet��offers you so many different ways to stay healthy and strong, from the air you breathe to the water you drink to the food that we eat��to the land that��supports our homes, cars, communities and life as we know it��� but the most direct way to get support from the earth is to touch it directly through grounding.

Join me in this two week course and get materials, tips, and ideas for grounding that you can use again and again and again, for the rest of your life. ����Save your seat here.

 

 

 

 

 

December 11th: ��Electrosensitivity Relief Online Class.

 

The truth is that the very thing that makes grounding so powerful is that we are fully conductive human beings,��with every single cell in our body completely conductive and ready to receive the earth���s healing energy.��And that is the very thing that makes us so susceptible to EMF exposures too, because we are fully conductive human beings,��with every single cell in our body completely conductive and affected by manmade electromagnetic fields around us.

But how do you know if you are electrosensitive (EHS) or not?

And how do you navigate living and working in urban environments if you are?

It’s absolutely possible to be EHS and safeguard your health, while still living in the modern world. ��In this class I will walk you through exactly how to do it, giving you tons of ways to decrease EMF��exposures in your own home, self assessment tools��that will help you��figure out if you are electrohypersensitive (EHS) and a step by step walk through that we do together.

I literally walk��you��through all of your��living spaces and show you how to make��them safer for you and your entire family, as well as giving you tons of encouragement and tools to boost your health, to decrease the reactivity and inflammation in your body from any EMF exposures that you can not control, as well as tools to��give you the confidence to��address EHS with your own in person physician.

It absolutely doesn’t have to be overwhelming, I’ll break it down for you into easily actionable steps that will leave you feeling empowered, not scared. ��Save your spot right here.

 

 

 

 

 

January 2nd: ��Weight Release & Reset Online Class

 

Your New Year New You tune-up, right from the comfort of your own home!

In this 5 day online class, I���ll walk you through the 5 pillars of sustainable, feel-good weight loss. ��I���ve based this course directly off of the positive take-aways from recent medical literature on metabolism and weight, as well as on my 20 years of experience helping to support my patients with their weight loss goals.

I���m excited to offer this class to support a health weight, not the lowest weight. ��You���d be surprised that your body naturally knows what weight is the perfect one for you, and it can sustain it at this perfect weight effortlessly once you naturally align��your metabolism. ��I���ll show you how in a very non-threatening, supportive, uplifting way. ��It���s not about being rigid or militant or hard on yourself, in fact, it���s the exact opposite.

The harder you are on yourself, the harder it is to align with your��healthiest version of you.

And it���s not even about your diet and exercise plan ��� there are actually several other things that are even more important than what you eat and how you move��� and without knowing what those three things are, you just can���t lose weight.

Understand what really is sabotaging your weight loss and the weight releases, naturally. �� Join me here.

 

 

 

February 6th: Chakra Healing Online Class

 

This is such a powerful, healing, information rich, uplifting (and completely fun!!!) way to align your chakras from root to crown.

And even if you don���t know what that means, I���m going to teach you.

And show you.

And get you in touch with your own unique energy flow!

In this class we spend one week together on each of your seven chakras:��taking a self assessment of how your energy is flowing in that particular chakra,��activating and opening that chakra,��journalling and doing exercises to expand and heal that chakra,��yoga poses and food suggestions to support that particular chakra,��meditations to radiate and strengthen that chakra,��along with a Q&A session to go over all of your chakra related questions.

Join me here.

 

 

 

 

Not up for a full class but still want to focus on your health?

 

I have a bunch of free ebooks for you here, click on any to instantly download:

Free Grounding Idea eBookFree Adrenal Repair eBookFree Skin Happiness eBookFree Health Flow Unleash eBookFree Chakra Health eBookFree Gentle Detox eBookFree Female Health eBookFree Parenting eBook

 

 

 

 

More Tips To Help You Protect Your Brain:Stay well hydrated to maintain alert cognitionSleep deeply to protect brain functionground to the earth daily (here are all the awesome ways that grounding supports your brain function!)take probiotics (your brain��and your gut are deeply interconnected)take Omega 3 Fatty Acid supplements (shown to help preserve brain volume as you age)exercise to protect your brain volume as you ageeat organically (studies show that pesticides increase Alzheimers Risk)avoid gluten (studies suggest that gluten is neurotoxic)drink coffee (clinically shown to protect agains MS!)drink green tea or take green tea extract (medically shown to boost memory!)take Vit D supplements (studies show low Vit D levels are linked to increased dementia rates)take Resveratrol supplements (medically shown to stop the progression of Alzheimers plaques!)treat any anxiety (studies show treating anxiety lengthens lifespan!)meditate regularly (medically proven to be brain protective!)and stay active (daily walking is the key!)

 

 

 

To your naturally resilient, astoundingly incredible brain!xoxox, Laura

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