Holistic Care for Whole People www.sojourns.org 4923 US Route 5 Westminster, VT 05158 (802) 722-4023 Dear Friends, "is Fall issue of the newsletter is arriving just in time for "anksgiving. What better time to give thanks to everyone who makes Sojourns the special place it has become for so many? As we approach our 9th birthday, we reflect on all we’ve accomplished with pride, while continuing to dream about where we are going. "ank you for being part of this amazing journey ! ~Cynthia N. Moore, MS, Executive Director Kim Peavey has been coming to Sojourns for nearly five years. She lives and works on a 53-acre farm in Westmoreland, New Hampshire. What first brought you to Sojourns? A recommendation from a good friend. I had a bellyful (and an armful and a legful and a headful) of negative experiences with the conventional medical establishment, and was looking for something different. I felt myself relax as soon as I walked into the beautiful waiting room at Sojourns. It’s a place that recognizes that your whole self is essential to healing. What is your whole self engaged in when you’re not relaxing at Sojourns? (Laughter) I write. Poetry mostly, some articles and essays. Much of my writing is informed by growing up on a family dairy farm in the foothills of the Adirondacks in Central New York State, as well as by my interests in both literature and theology. I have graduate degrees in both areas, and am especially intrigued by the connections between religion and ecology, spirit and place. "at’s another thing I like about Sojourns: the commitment to harmony in the buildings and grounds. “Sojourns is an inviting place, a place that doesn’t ask you to check your brain, I also get excited about the use of poetry and other literature in or your emotions, or your experience, or community or church rituals. Every spring, I co-lead an ecumeni- your understanding of the world, at the cal Easter service in Keene that alternates music and readings, door.” including contemporary poetry. My big leap this year was reading —Kim Peavey one of my own poems during the service. continued on page 2 Sojourns Newsletter Fall 2009 Kim Peavey continued from page 1 I’m close to completing a novel, set in the 1870’s, the time of the long cattle drives and the railroads being built. It’s a coming of age story about a young woman who is raised in the Eastern U.S., and travels out West before coming back home (and to herself) again. My first “prescription” from Sojourns’ naturopathic doctor, Cliff Steinberg, included “Write every day”! I may not earn a living by writing, but it certainly feels like my essential work, in this lifetime, at least. So, how do you pay your bills at Sojourns? (More laughter) If I ever get my novel published, I’ll donate some of the proceeds to Sojourns! My other work that I love, and that doesn’t pay much, is farming. My spouse, Frank Hunter, and I (and our nine-year-old daughter, Gwen) have a Community Supported Agriculture Garden where we raise vegetables organically/biodynamically for sixty local households. CSA members join at the beginning of the season and come to the farm once a week from early June to late November to pick up Shares of the week’s harvest. We work with our Percheron and Belgian draft horses to grow and cultivate over fifty varieties of vegetables, berries, herbs, and cutting flowers. By the way, we are accepting new members for the 2010 season (www.hillsidespringsfarm.com). We’re centrally located, minutes from the famous Sojourns clinic! How do you have time to get to Sojourns ? I like coming to Sojourns! I’ve gotten so much incredible help and support for my health troubles. Sojourns feels to me like a place that “opens”, or allows for opening, because it holds a space dedicated to healing on all levels: body, mind, and spirit. !e healing of the whole self again. Yes. "e whole self, and the whole self in relationship to all that surrounds us. Plus Sojourns has a therapy dog, hot tea, and is in the middle of an organic farm. What more could you ask for? Poetry readings? Now there’s an idea. “Sojourns feels to me like a place that “opens”, or allows for opening, because it holds a space dedicated to healing on all levels: body, mind, and spirit.” Kim Peavey page # 2 Sojourns Newsletter Fall 2009 Flu season is upon us Stay healthy and support your immune system Listening to the news about this flu season is not good for my health. "ere is confusion; the media creates frenzy; and it is stressing me out! t "ere is a lot of discussion about vaccination but very little discussion about common sense. Let’s remember what is really important in order to stay healthy this time of year. Flu prevention needs a combination of healthy prac- tices and strong immunity that cannot come from vaccines alone. t Vaccines are never an adequate replacement for good health measures. We need exquisite nutrition, restful sleep, plenty of laughter, play and movement. We also need excellent hand washing technique. We need to stay home when we are ill, for our own benefit and that of others. We need to see our health care provider and ask for help to navigate our options. And we need to think criti- cally about what we see, hear and feel. t I am recommending all of the above—plus Vitamin D, probiotics, herbal immune support, and fish oils to many of my patients. Some patients, in addition, may choose a combination of IV therapy, immune boosts and/or conventional vaccination. t Don’t let the hype make you stressed; it depletes your immunity. Get in for a consult and come up with a good solid healthy plan so you can float easily through the season. by Dr. Amy Littlefield Consider our Immune Boost "e Immune Boost is a series of three intramuscular injections, given 2 weeks apart. It contains three homeopathic remedies in combination: t &DIJOBDFBDPNQPTJUVN4UJNVMBUFTUIFCPEZTHFOFSBMJNNVOFSFTQPOTFBOENPEFSBUFTJOnBNNBUJPO t &OHZTUPM"DUJWBUFTUIFJNNVOFSFTQPOTF QBSUJDVMBSMZBHBJOTUWJSVTFT t (SJQQ)FFM4UJNVMBUFTUIFJNNVOFEFGFOTFTBHBJOTUUIFJOnVFO[BWJSVT When should I get it? First, ask your practitioner if it is right for you. It can be given any time of the year to help in fighting an acute infection; or it can be used as a preventive measure. Fall is an ideal time, in order to prepare for the viral infections that are common during the winter months. Does the Immune Boost replace the seasonal influenza vaccination or the H1N1 influ- enza vaccination? Many people who choose not to get a flu vaccine choose to use the Immune Boost. "e vaccine and the Immune Boost do not act in the same way, however. Influenza vaccinations are designed and tested to create a specific antibody response to specific influenza viruses, but offer no protection from other viruses. "e Immune Boost is designed to strengthen and stimulate your body’s natural defenses against infections, and viral infections in particular. "e Immune Boost has not been tested against the influenza virus. If you have had an influenza vaccination, it may still be a good idea to consider the Immune Boost. Is the Immune Boost safe? It carries very little risk of side effects. While rare, there is a slight chance that you could have a hypersensitivity reaction to one of the components of the Immune Boost. Please tell your health care practitioner of any allergies that you may have. by Dr. Greg Burkland Sojourns Newsletter Fall 2009 page # 3 Kids & Chiropractic Chiropractic care is safe and effective for children of all ages. In fact, a first Sophia: “I feel awesome when I get adjusted. It helps me fall asleep. I chiropractic examination and treatment like getting adjusted because it makes me feel really good. I have been right after birth can ease the effects of the getting adjusted since I was 3 days old. I am now 9.” stress of the birth process. Chiropractic works with the nervous system to maintain and improve the function of the whole body. All of our systems—including our muscular, glandular, respiratory, circulatory, digestive, eliminatory, hormonal and immuno- logical systems—depend on optimal function of the nervous system. Our nerves are our primary communication channels. If there is poor alignment or improper movement of a spinal segment Everest: “Your spine some- (vertebra), then nerve function connected to that spinal level is likely to be compro- times gets messed up and mised. When nerve function is compromised, the system that is innervated by that you need to fix it.” nerve cannot function as well. Poor health or lack of vitality can begin this way. Chiropractic is not just for back pain. Chiropractic promotes whole Esther: “I like it a lot when I do it, body wellness by supporting nerve function. When a child has an ear and I feel better after. ” infection or asthma, chiropractic adjustments can relieve stress on the nerves to the immune, musculoskeletal and respiratory systems. By reducing the stress on these systems, the body can fight the condition more effectively. Chiropractic does not treat ear infections and asthma; it improves the body’s ability to work optimally and restore the health that is innate to all of us. Some parents wonder what chiropractic adjustments look and feel like for a young child. Children are fragile, yet tough (as anyone can attest to if they’ve ever seen a child being born).