Holistic dentistry

Thank you to Dr. Felix Liao of Whole Health Dental Center for a great presentation on Optimal Dental Facial Development for Children.

Dr. Liao shared a wealth of information about structural factors in the mouth that can influence whole health, and he explained how nutrition, breastfeeding, and toxins (from food, air, products, etc.) can impact the mouth and thus whole body health. What a fascinating talk!

Dr. Liao recommended that any children with crowing, jaw, posture, or learning problems or with clenching or pain issues be seen by a holistic dentist by age five. Remediation (often to expand the jaw, not just to align teeth) should be started before age 10 for maximum effectiveness.

Basics of Ayurvedic Medcine in April

Thanks to Whitney Paterson of Apurva Wellness for teaching us about Ayurvedic medicine, an ancient tradition that uses diet, seasonal eating, lifestyle, daily rhythms and herbs to create and maintain optimal health.
We covered the following questions:
· What are the different Ayurvedic doshas, or body types, and how can you use this information to help support your health and your children's health?

· What is your dosha?

· What are some common imbalances with these types and what are ways we can address them?

· Can diet/herbs improve these imbalances, and how so?

· How else can an understanding of Ayurveda help us understand our children and their specific needs?

Green Schools!

Thank you to our speakers Miriam Gennari, Katherine Sumner and Wendy Sparrow for sharing with us all that Arlington and Alexandria public schools have to offer. Check out this article by one of our leaders about the recent NoVA Outside Green Schools Expo that inspired our meeting and for more from meeting speaker Miriam Gennari on efforts in Arlington. Congratulations to Alexandria for being a winner at the Expo!

Learn about public schooling options on March 15!

Parents in Arlington have just another month to visit schools and apply for admission to any program that is not their home school. New plans are being made for transfer applications in Alexandria kindergartens.

What better time to get an overview of what the Arlington and Alexandria public schools have to offer holistic families?

Even if you might be years away from school or planning to homeschool, our March 15 meeting will give you a flavor for what is happening in public schools in our area.

Arlington parent and APS Sustainability Committee Member Miriam Gennari will speak to Arlington County while Alexandria parent and Nourish Schools co-founder Katherine Sumner and ACPS Schoolyard Coordinator Wendy Sparrow will tell us what is happening in Alexandria City.

Our planned Fairfax speaker will not be able join us due to a family emergency, but we welcome Fairfax parents and invite any teachers or parents in Fairfax or Falls Church City to come share your experiences and join in the conversation.

Topics we plan to touch on include:

• How are schools making efforts to be environmentally friendly?
• What kind of outside experiences to children have?
• What gardening opportunities are available?
• What do children eat or learn about nutrition or local Farm-to-Table eating?
• What kind of emphasis is placed on media and testing rather than hands-on learning?
• How does it work to "apply" to go to one school over another?

Clear your emotional blockages with EFT in February!

Do you have unresolved negative emotions you'd like to let go?

Would you like to know how can tapping on certain acupressure points can help clear you of emotional blockages, improve your mood, or even alleviate pain or addiction?

Are you curious about Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), a meridian tapping technique?

Want to try EFT but not sure how it works or if you can do it yourself?

Wondering what kind of issues (ADD, depression, eating disorders, etc.) with which EFT can help you and your family? (Hint: it’s all of these and more!)

Please join the Arlington/Alexandria Chapter of Holistic Moms Network on Thursday, February 16 for its monthly meeting, where guest speaker Jan Steele, JD, MSW -- a licensed clinical social worker offering therapy and coaching for empowerment and change -- will introduce EFT and discuss its many benefits. She will also provide a demonstration. The meeting is 7-9 p.m.

Note: Although children are always welcome at meetings, participants will likely benefit more if they have their hands free for this meeting.

Click here for an informational video and demo about EFT.

















Please note: These links are provided for informational purposes only and are not intended as endorsements for these businesses.

Getting organized in 2012!

Thanks to Carly Poppalardo of Real Organized VA for sharing tips on home organization. We all learned a lot from Carly's tips and from each other's strategies (and challenges!)

Carly's Top tips were:
1) Put like with like (including "zoning" the kitchen and even sections in the fridge)
2) Downsize to what you need, use, and love
3) Store things where you actually use them
4) Have what you use most often in the most accessible place
5) Containerize -- give everything a "home"
6) Go vertical
7) One in, one out
8) Label with words and picture
9) Start small - don't take out more than what you can do in an hour

Get organized!

Looking for ideas to get better organized in your home, work or life?
Trying to do it in a green, natural way?
Tried to do it on your own but felt the task too overwhelming?

Our January meeting is going to help you start 2012 out right!

Please join us on Thursday, January 19 for our monthly meeting, where guest speaker Carly Poppalardo of Real Organized VA will offer her best solutions for better focus, less stress, and organization for the holistic family.

7-9 p.m. Children welcome, as always!