The Healing Power of Music

Did you know that musical tones and frequencies have the ability to create healing? Studies have clearly shown that music helps us process emotions. Research has also shown that adding music therapy to treatment improves symptoms and social functioning among schizophrenics. Further, music therapy has demonstrated efficacy as an independent treatment for reducing depression, anxiety and chronic pain.It also has a positive effect on the body,  It can produce direct biological changes, such as reducing heart rate, blood pressure, and cortisol levels. Music is among those lifestyle choices that may reduce

Join me at Martha's Minute on Thursday, February 15, 2018 with special guest artist, Jerald Simon, of Music Motivation, to discuss The Healing Power of Music.

Measuring Changes in Health & Age

Ever wonder if you can measure how you are aging or if your health is improving? By measuring your Phase Angle (PhA) can help you do just that. When you monitor your phase angle values they can help you track progress of lifestyle changes as well as clue you in on

health risks. 

By tracking your PhA, you’ll be able to gain a more precise picture of your health because it examines cell health and the amount of water inside of the cells. Based on established research findings, higher PhA values suggest greater cellular integrity and reflects  better overall cell health.  A low phase angle, on the other hand, is  highly predictive of decreased muscle strength, impaired quality of life, and increased mortality in old adults with cancer. Low phase angles tend to be consistent in individuals with malnutrition,  HIV/AIDS infection, cancer, chronic alcoholism, and old age.

Thus, keeping your phase angle high through healthy lifestyle habits is encouraged.

To learn more .... click here.

To test your PhA contact us at https://www.advancedhealthclinic.com/contact-us/

The Benefits of Foot Zone Therapy

Foot Zone therapy can improve the function of your entire body through precise manipulation of your feet. Foot Zone therapy targets certain zones in your feet that trigger signals and sends messages and stimulation to affected tissues or organs via your spinal cord and brain. The therapy stimulates every organ in your body in each treatment and will help you to recognize how interconnected all of your body’s cells, organs and systems are.

Foot Zoning can be used to address any number of complaints that you might have and the benefits are endless. Sessions can, among other things, release tension, cleanse toxins, improve circulation, increase energy, strengthen the immune system, induce deep relaxation, boost fertility, stabilize emotions, and simply bring peace and harmony into your home and life in general.

A foot zone session assists you in releasing tension, cleansing toxins, improving circulation, increasing energy, balance, strengthen your natural defense systems, inducing deep relaxation, and simply brings peace and harmony into your life.

Warm Up - Enjoy the Benefits of Sauna

The benefits of Sauna have been known as far back as ancient times. Sweating is the body’s  natural way to heal & stay healthy. Far infrared sauna benefits the body by heating it directly causing a rise in core temperature resulting in a deep, detoxifying sweat at the cellular level, where toxins reside. 

Some of the benefits of Sauna are:

• Blood Pressure Reduction
• Improved Circulation
• Detoxification
• Weight Loss
• Relaxation
• Pain Relief
• Wound Healing
• Skin Purification
• Cell Health

Schedule your sauna session at www.AdvancedHealthclinic.com

Celebrate National Nurse Practitioner Week With Us!

Join Us in Celebrating our Holistic Family Nurse Practitioner, Martha Bray!

2015 marks the 50th anniversary of the NP profession. The first NP program was established in Colorado. There are now over 205,000 NP's licensed to practice in the United States. Martha Bray, FNP-BC, APRN,  is dedicated to the health and well-being of her clients, day in and day out. She works tirelessly in bringing the very best of Integrative Medicine to all of us at AdvancedHealth Clinic.

As a holistic nurse practitioner, Martha uses alternative treatments and medicines that are combined with the traditional Western medicine to care for her clients. Holistic nursing is based on treating a disease by treating the whole person, which includes their mental, spiritual and emotional conditions. Martha focuses on wellness and how to maintain and propagate health as opposed to focusing on illness and the purely curative aspects of health.

Martha, we thank you, and celebrate you for who you are and for all you do! 

What is Functional Medicine?

Functional Medicine incorporates the latest in genetic science, systems biology, and understanding of how environmental and lifestyle factors influence the emergence and progression of disease. Functional medicine addresses the

Holistic Nurse Practitioner
Martha Bray, FNP-BC, APRN

underlying causes of disease, using a system based approach that engages both patient and practitioner in a therapeutic partnership. It is an evolution in the practice of medicine that better addresses the healthcare needs of the 21st century. The term “functional medicine” was coined in 1993 to describe the medicine of the future.1 In fact, today, many complementary and alternative medicine, or CAM, practitioners use a functional medicine approach that includes the following:

• Patient uniqueness: Each individual is unique. This uniqueness encompasses voluntary activities, such as decision-making, personality development, and emotional response, and involuntary activities like metabolism of nutrients, cellular processing of information, and communication among the body’s organ systems. Functional medicine professionals realize that all individuals have unique metabolic patterns that affect their health needs and thus, the concept of individuality is central to every aspect of functional medicine, from clinical assessment and diagnosis to the broad spectrum of treatment modalities.  
• Patient-centered approach: Functional medicine practitioners use a patient-centered approach to support wellness. This means that in addition to considering the overall health of the patient, functional medicine practitioners consider the beliefs, attitudes, and motivations, as well as the physical, mental, and emotional aspects, of the patient.
• Preventive care: Optimal health is not just the absence of disease. Even the most minor symptoms can foreshadow more serious conditions later in life. This often happens via the “snowball effect,” in which a “minor” imbalance within the body produces a cascade of biological triggers that can eventually lead to poor health and chronic illness. For this reason, functional medicine focuses on the prevention, instead of just the treatment of, even the most minor imbalances.2

Through changes in lifestyle, environment, and nutrition, functional medicine professionals rely on their knowledge of key physiological, genetic, and biochemical processes for establishing an innovative form of total patient wellness amidst the diversity of interests in health care today.1

References
The Institute for Functional Medicine. (n.d.). Retrieved March 25, 2002, from http://www.fxmed.com/aboutus/about-frame.html
GSDL Functional Medicine. (n.d.). Retrieved March 25, 2002, from http://www.gsdl.com/gsdl/functional_med.html

How to Choose a Holistic Practitioner

Your first responsibility as a patient/client is to select a practitioner who will join your "team" to support you in obtaining and maintaining optimum health for your body, mind, emotions and spirit. While most holistic practitioners use modalities that are currently labeled "alternative medicine," their interests and practices may vary widely. Thus, one person might work primarily with nutrition and herbs, while another might look mainly at the spiritual aspects of health and disease. Other areas of interest include spinal manipulation and body work, "energy medicine," mind-body medicine, acupuncture and stress management. It is important to remember that there are many different definitions of holistic medicine. When choosing a practitioner, make sure that individual has the same type of philosophy and uses the treatment modalities you are seeking.

The following considerations are offered as a guide to help you find a practitioner with whom you are comfortable. Optimum health is more likely to be present when you work with someone who is supportive of your efforts to be in charge of your life. Some of the criteria may not apply to all situations.

1. Does this practitioner have health professional relationships with others? How did you hear about this practitioner? A personal referral is often more powerful than a professional referral. What do friends and other professionals say about this person? How does he/she feel about second opinions or your interest in alternative health care therapies/treatments? What technical certifications, professional organizations or hospital affiliations does this practitioner have?
2. How do YOU respond to this practitioner's office and staff? This environment reveals his/her attitudes and beliefs. Do you feel comfortable and cared for when you call or visit the office? Does the ambiance enhance that comfort? Does the staff further your sense of well being? Are educational handouts available in the office or waiting room? Is your appointment time honored or do you have to wait?
3. Do you feel like a valued person working as a partner with this practitioner?Healing is enhanced by a healthy relationship between patient/client and practitioner. Do you feel this practitioner is there for you? Do you feel trust and confidence? Does he/she seem to care about you, take your medical history personally and show an interest in your family, lifestyle and diet? Are you told about various treatment options? Do each of you recognize that you need the other? Is the practitioner accessible? Are you able to discuss the financial aspects of your care openly and comfortably? Positive answers to these questions are evidence of your rightful place as a co-creator of this healing partnership.
4. Is your personal dignity respected? Any examination or interaction should be respectful of your personal dignity.
5. Does this practitioner honor your anxieties and fears? Is this practitioner sensitive enough to place him/herself in your position regarding fears and anxieties about an illness or proposed treatment?
6. What is the state of this practitioner's health? Does he/she appear to have a healthy lifestyle? Signs of overweight, overwork, smoking or drinking may indicate that he/she does not take care of him/herself. You will probably do best with a teammember who is just as committed to good health as you are. The Biblical statement, "Physician, heal thyself," is paramount in a health-filled relationship.
7. Are you allowed time between diagnosis and treatment? Does this practitioner allow you the time to collect the educational and personal resources that you need to make a well-informed decision?
8. Are you treated as if this is an important, ongoing relationship? Are you notified of test results within a reasonable period of time? Are follow-up visits scheduled after treatment? Is there discussion of future health goals and not just the immediate matter at hand?
9. Do you feel unconditionally accepted by this practitioner? Unconditional acceptance allows you to get well in your unique way. Do you feel that you are accepted no matter what develops, no matter what decisions you make? Can the practitioner approach your care with an open mind, rather than with a predetermined treatment plan? Would the practitioner offer to a member of his/her own family the same carefully chosen advice that he/she has offered to you?
10. Would you send the person most dear to you to this practitioner? Do you have such a strong feeling of caring, confidence and trust in this practitioner that you would send to him/her, with no misgivings, the person who is dearest to you? If so, then you have found that special person to be on your health team.

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This material is used with the permission of the the American Holistic Medical Association (AHMA). It was originally created in 1988 as a consumer education pamphlet for the American Holistic Medical Association (AHMA) and the American Holistic Medical Foundation (AHMF) by the AHMF Education Committee. The chair of the committee at that time was Suzan Walter, who is now president of the American Holistic Health Association.