Fighting the Flu Naturally

Our February meeting welcomed two great speakers, Dr. Hai Jin Kim, MD, of HealthBuilders (Annandale) and Dr. Julia Wray, DO, of Cornerstone Chiropractic (Alexandria). Dr. Kim began addressing the problem of living in a symptom-driven world where the immune system is not allowed to do its job. If the symptoms are suppressed, she explained, the immune system doesn't fulfill its potential.

Dr. Kim explained how vaccines work with the TH1 and TH2 components of the immune system, especially in babies, who are T2 dominant (and whose immune system does not mature until age 5 or 6). She also talked some about homeopathic remedies to be used during illness or for prophylaxis, noting that homeopathy looks at both emotional and physical characteristics of an illness.

Dr. Wray spoke in depth about the importance of vitamin D for general health and particular for respiratory infections. She also described some general theories of chiropractic and shared stories from her personal experience and from her practice, in which she uses Activator technology rather than manual adjustments. She also shared health-promoting habits, which include adequate sleep, positive attitude and the choice of activities that cultivate such an attitude, deep breathing, and proper posture, in addition to high-quality and adequate food (in a form close to how it's found in nature) and drink (pure, filtered water).

Thank you, Dr. Kim and Dr. Wray for sharing your insights with us along with some great giveaways!

February 18 Meeting: Fighting the Flu Naturally

Hoping that we don't get any additional snow or face other weather delays, we are looking forward to this month's talk on "Fighting the Flu Naturally."

Dr. Hai Jin Kim of Health Builders in Annandale and Dr. Julia Wray of Cornerstone Chiropractic in Old Town Alexandria will discuss how to prevent and treat the flu through nutrition, nutritional supplements, chiropractic and other hands-one healing modalities, restful sleep and stress reduction, and homeopathy. The talk will also include a brief discussion of what flu vaccines do and don't do and how they interact with the immune system.

Please join us this Thursday, February 18, 7-9 p.m., 716 S. Glebe Rd. Arlington, VA 22204 in the Parlor of Arlington United Methodist Church. Enter the church parking lot (on the north side of the building) from S. Glebe or from S. 7th St. (at the light). Under the portico, enter the left side of the building and follow the signs. As always, children are welcome.

Fabulous Anniversary Party!

What a wonderful celebration of our first year as a chapter we had! It was wonderful to see so many families connecting with other families and with practitioners and businesses. And what a treat to see the kids enjoying the music of Groovy Nate, who was kind enough to donate a set of original and traditional music for us.

Thank you Groovy Nate, our host site AUMC, and to all the donors who submitted terrific prizes, some of which were given away, others raffled off, and others "sold" on silent auction with proceeds benefiting our chapter.

We also greatly appreciate our members for their support and the many volunteers who worked day and night to pull off this amazing evening. It was truly a group effort! We had so many wonderful homemade foods to complement the food donations and also gave out a comprehensive list of CSA shares available now, put together by chapter members. That database will be up on the chapter Yahoo group site soon and will be available at our February 18 meeting as well (though some shares will fill before that).

Thank you again to everyone who attended, to our donors, and also to our sponsors for their support of us in our first year: BirthCare and Women's Health, The Chiropractic Associates, Fairlington Dental, and National Integrated Health Associates.

What a year it has been!

Storytime!

On January 20, we had a fun storytime at Hooray For Books in Old Town Alexandria. We read a wonderful array of eco-themed books, including books about gardening, eating healthy food, and being kind to the earth. What a great afternoon!

Thanks to Hooray For Books for donating this storytime and to Laurie C. for setting up the event.

Upcoming Events with revised dates

There are a couple of great events coming up in addition to our monthly meetings - dates revised to reflect snow challenges!

Hope to see you there!

Events Open to the Public

Thursday, January 28, 7:00-9:30 p.m.
Cooking class with Monica Corrado of Simply Being Well
"The Secrets to Making Nutrient-Dense Stock"
Location is Alexandria near Duke St. & Quaker Lane
Discount for HMN members. Go to Monica's site to register.

Monday, February 1, 7:30 p.m.
Film screening and discussion of Consuming Kids: The Commercialization of Childhood
Arlington Unitarian Universalist Church, 4444 Arlington Blvd., Arlington, VA 22204 (corner of George Mason Drive and Rt. 50/Arlington Blvd.) Co-sponsored by the Family and Home Network and Arlington Unitarian Cooperative Preschool
Go to http://consumingkids.bravenewtheaters.com/screening/show/13679-arlington to RSVP or or via email to: film (at) familyandhome (dot) org

Saturday, February 27, 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon
Cooking class with Monica Corrado of Simply Being Well
"Condiments + 2 - Ketchup, Mustard, Mayo, Pickles, & Salsa" (Eat your probiotics!)
Location is Alexandria - Del Ray near Russell & Braddock
HMN members get a discount. Go to Monica's site to register.

Saturday, March 6, 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon - RESCHEDULED from February 6 due to snow
Cooking class with Monica Corrado of Simply Being Well
"Soaking Beans and Grains for Optimum Digestion" (new techniques!)
Location is Alexandria - Del Ray near Russell & Braddock
HMN members get a discount. Go to Monica's site to register.

Events for HMN Arlington/Alexandria Chapter Members (see Evites for info)

Tuesday, February 9 - Postponed due to snow
Moms Night Out
Jewelry-making with Trish Thackston

Saturday, February 27 - (RESCHEDULED FROM FEB. 13 due to snow/lack of parking)
Eco Home Assessment Demonstration with Bobby Crogs

Anniversary Party Set for January 21!

Holistic Moms Network Arlington/Alexandria is turning one year old!

Please join us for our First Anniversary Party on Thursday, January 21, 2010, 7:00-9:00 p.m.

We will be meeting in the 2nd floor Fellowship Hall of our regular location at 716 S. Glebe Road, Arlington, VA 22206. Thank you to AUMC for donating the use of their space to us.

The party will include refreshments, door prizes and a special musical performance by children's performer, Groovy Nate around 7:30 p.m. - suitable for all ages! Get the kids a good nap and bring the whole family along. The more the merrier!

We are accepting donations of food or drink as well as donations to be given away as door prizes or part of a small silent auction. Gift certificates, eco-friendly products, classes, consultations are all welcome as are on-site donations like neck and shoulder or hand massages or other demonstrations.

Businesses interested in making a donation to our anniversary party may email holisticmomsarlalex (at) gmail (dot) com. Non-perishable donations must be received by January 15. Arrangements can be made to pick up larger items and food donations.

Practitioners and green-minded business owners -- parents or not! -- are welcome to attend the party. We will have an information table for brochures, business cards, discount coupons, etc., but we ask that you please take extras with you when you leave since we don't have room to display information at every meeting.

HMN does have a strict non-solicitation policy, so no selling of goods or services is allowed. Businesses interested in sponsoring our chapter (includes being thanked at every meeting and your logo on our website and blog) may contact the national organization at info (at) holisticmoms (dot) org.

Hope to see you on January 21!

Clarifying our Values: Inspiring December Meeting

Life coaches Carolyn Semedo and Suzanne Couming-Caldwell presented a wonderful meeting in December. The title was "Creating Balance in Family Life," but the focus of the interactive workshop was on helping us clarify our values. Once we can identify what is important to us, it becomes clearer to see how to eliminate areas of stress and to live in alignment with what we truly value.

The "Clarifying Values" worksheet and a list of resources (including books) from Carolyn and Suzanne are up on the chapter member Yahoo group under Files in the "Notes from Meetings" folder. Several attendees at the workshop noted that working through the values worksheet with their life partners would be beneficial for their relationship. Older children could also benefit from a discussion about the values held by the family -- and how those mesh with values of individual members of the family.

Thank you to our wonderful speakers and to all of the members and visitors who participated in this lively event!