Holistic/ Recommended GYN Services in Southern CA

In response to recent inquiry on Facebook: (Thanks Yve for cluing me into this discussion!)

So, it warms my heart to hear all your recommendations; thanks for your kind words. I do not offer GYN exams/ pap smears. As far as recommendations go, here’s what I have:

Complete Women Care (Lakewood and Naples); I worked with Dr. Lin and loved her. She’s not so holistic in her approach, but so supportive of it. She was my OB with my son until I transferred over to my midwives. They leave chocolates on the pillows and are all really sweet. They take all forms of HMOs and PPOs and have great customer service…562-424-8422

My sister really likes Robin who works with Dr. Black (Irvine I think)–natural approach and very woman-centered. 949-722-2510

The Birth Sanctuary (Venice); These were my midwives and lovely. A bit expensive if you don’t have insurance and a bit of a drive from Long Beach, but worth it if you want a long term relationship with midwives that may help you birth in the near future. On that note, I also had a great experience with South Coast Midwifery (Irvine) –about the same distance in the other direction.

If you are not depending on insurance, I would go with a local midwife that perhaps a friend recommends–anyone have recs? Please post a comment below. Thanks!

Other’s recommended:

• Dr. Tierny’s wife, Sandra Goines-Tierney (recommended by Shoshanna Husak) 5242 Katella Avenue Suite 106 Los Alamitos, CA 90720 (562) 431-5010
• Dr. Stearns and Percy (recommended by incredible midwife Katie McCall) Pearcy & Stearns Inc: Stearns Lauren M MD 539 S Brea Blvd # 100, Brea, CA 92821-5377 (714) 671-2936 ‎
• I did a local search and came up with Dr. Kaleb on Yelp. She seems to have good reviews: Vanessa Kaleb, MD  2865 Atlantic Ave Ste 250 Long Beach, CA 90806(562) 595-7709

Siva gets sick…

So “Miss sending-out-newsletters-on-how-not-to-get-sick got sick.” It’s been years since I was this affected. I was embarrassed…how did this happen? I tried to identify the things in my life that participated in the inoculation process.

And then I was reminded that I’m human. And we humans love to let our minds make the decisions instead of our whole beings.

I had definitely slipped into old patterns of not taking care of my self and doing things my mind felt I ought to, instead of listening to that beautiful wisdom that resides within each of us.

In ayurveda, not listening to our inner voice (forgetting our true nature as spirit )is actually a cause of disease. (Learn more about Causes of disease in ayurveda)

As we embark on the holiday roller-coaster, it is a great time to take a quick inventory of your plans for the rest of the year, your commitments–how do you feel about them?

If it isn’t feeling joyous, maybe you take a first giant step in letting the feeling guide your decision making process (instead of the mind and the obligation). I’m still learning to do this myself, but oooh does it feel good from the inside-out!

Ultimately, isn’t everything we do to feel good in that way?

Top 10 Balancing Tips for Vata Season

1. Oil every orifice! (I’m serious.) We are oil-pulling (mouth); doing nasya (nose and ears), and basti (colorectum) in my house. Vata is dry, dry, dry. We may notice drier nasal passages and lips, but we don’t do anything about it. In ayurveda, oiling helps to fortify the epithelium that lines the orifices and prevents against vata imbalance in these areas (e.g. prevents upper respiratory infections, earaches/tinnitis/infections, constipation/diverticuli, etc.)

2. Oil your skin. This is the largest organ of the body, and a digestive organ. Medicinal oils are so important this time of year. Although traditional abhyangha (daily self massage) is recommended before bathing, I recommend oiling yourself after bathing in place of a lotion or sheabutter. 20 minutes on your skin is all it takes for something to be seen in your blood stream! So medicinal oils are a great way to take in herbs that are balancing and reduce dryness from the outside in.

3. Cook with ghee. Ghee, to me, is clarified life-force from breastmilk–minus the lactose sugars and waxes/debris in butter that clog arteries. It nourishes all tissues, is known to help rejuvenate deeper tissues, and pacifies vata and pitta. Ghee reduces dryness and increasing the quality of tissues from the inside-out. On this note, avoid dry and cold foods!

4. Lock into some kind of routine. Routine is rhythm and that rhythm is what our internal clocks (e.g. circadian rhythms) will set to. With routine to anchor your mind and body, there is greater harmony amongst the millions of processes taking place inside your miraculous self. This synchrony helps prevent against imbalance.

5. Spend quality time with supportive people in your life. AKA bring in healthy kapha. Really plug into the people that ground you. Maybe instead of going to get a drink in a noisy bar, you go for a walk together; instead of watching a movie, prepare a meal together. You get the idea, it’s about feeling present during your time together.

6. Move around less (that means stay at home more) Constant movement is the hallmark of vata. Stay still. Leave space in your schedule. Lie on the floor, stare at the trees out of the window, meditate…just be. After all, we are human BEings, not human DOings.

7. Go to bed before 9pm. I know, that is a G rated bedtime…and almost impossible during holiday festivities. But really, this is when vata time of night really kicks in, so as many days as possible that you can accomplish this (or closer to this than you are now), you will reduce the vata you take in.

8. Spend less time around electronics. All EMR is movement–TV and laptops screens are moving so fast. And that movement is stimulating to our brains. Less stimulation=less vata.

9.Get massaged (with oil of course). Human touch is grounding. Massages reduce tension, and soften the body. Soft, supple, warm and oily are all qualities that balance vata.

10.Flame-gaze. This is so great when you are feeling scattered and having trouble focusing. So many holidays this time of year incorporate candles and light (Hannukah, Diwali, Kwanza…), so take advantage. Just stare at the flickering flame and allow yourself to become fully immersed in it’s dance and nature. That’s it! It also calms the nervous system.

Vata Imbalance

Vata Season