First Podcast and so much more...

This post is being written by a recent graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrtion-thats me! I graduated last weekend-YEAH!!! I am now officially a Holistic Health Counselor, soon to be certified by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners. I am also the featured nutrition expert for the ezine The Family Groove (www.thefamilygroove.com) which launches on June 18th, and have been asked to do a weekly expert podcast for sheunlimited.com . Wow, thats me! Its such an exciting time, and a busy time. I still have the baby boutique, and my son, now 18 months old, is amazing, a little bundle of male energy, but Im not as young as I once was, and its hard for me to keep up. But enough of that, this is for positive energy only. And in that regard, here is the script from my 1st podcast on June 14, 2006:

Hello everyone… This is Kelly Scotti, Founder and Director of Flying Dragon Wellness, a nutrition and wellness counseling practice in the heart of Bucks County, Pa. I am a board certified Holistic Health Counselor, and my mission in this life is to help my clients and ultimately the world find the wholeness and happiness they deserve. I hope to have the chance to work with each and every one of you. You can find out more about my practice at www.flyingdragonwellness.com.

Before we jump into tough issues like genetic modification of food and widespread pesticide use (the heavy hitters as I like to call them), I first want to define what holistic health is, and my philosophy regarding nutrition and lifestyle change. This is especially important because there is not an accepted standard definition of holistic health, and you might have a completely different idea of what it is than I do. Who hasn’t been confused or maybe a little scared of words like Holistic or Alternative …i'm sure some of you know what I’m talking about. Though this concept is definitely gaining widespread acceptance throughout the country, some people still judge it as “not normal” or a little weird, and I want to show you how “normal” it really is.

Suzan Walter, President of the American Holistic Health Association, has found that holistic health is often defined in one of two ways:
First, Holistic can be defined as a whole made up of interdependent parts. You are most likely to hear this referred to as the mind/ body connection or mind/ body/ and spirit. When this meaning is specifically applied to illness, it can include a number of factors, such as dealing with the root cause of an illness; increasing patient involvement; and considering both conventional (allopathic) and complementary (alternative) therapies.
Holistic also serves as a synonym for alternative therapies, such as acupuncture, reiki, massage, meditation or more extreme things such as bach flower remedies and shamanism. The weird factor comes into play when people use alternative treatment exclusively, avoiding doctors and pharmaceutical medication that we have been conditioned to believe is the only way to be healed.
Many of us in the US are not used to integrating all aspects of ourselves when we explore treatment options for an illness or when we want to lose weight, since how can a disease be caused by the food we eat or how can my weight be related to the fight I had with my husband? In my opinion and that of many others throughout the world, however, everything we do, everything that happens to us, and everything we are influences our health.
A holistic health practitioner may use any variety of natural healing suggestions to work in partnership with an individual toward greater health, balance and integration. This approach to health recognizes the patient as a whole person, not just a disease or a collection of symptoms. In the course of treatment, holistic practitioners address the client's emotional and spiritual dimensions as well as the nutritional, environmental and lifestyle factors that may contribute to dis-ease.

My philosophy regarding nutrition and lifestyle change is considered holistic because it is rooted in food, but it encompasses everything that causes us to eat…from our body’s basic requirements for the energy and vitamins and minerals that we obtain through the food we eat, to our primary food, that which nourishes us that is not something we put into our mouth. Nutrition is really just a secondary source of nourishment. There are so many other things that nourish us: Love, touch, meditation, fun, exercise, spirituality, self-expression, nature, close friends and lovers, our children, and play all feed our souls and our hunger for living. And the more primary food we have in our lives, the less dependent we are on the food that we put in our mouths to nourish us. Alternatively, the less primary food we have, or the more out of balance we are with our primary food, the more we are likely to turn to what we put into our mouths to find comfort. To define nourishment as a balance of all aspects of our being is truly holistic.

I invite you to explore the primary and secondary foods you have in your life with a free one hour health consultation. I see clients in my office in Bucks County, Pa or over the phone. My one on one counseling sessions guide you in discovering the reasons you eat what you eat, and help you define and reach your goals around food, whether that be finding out what foods are good for you individually, for your blood type, your body type, your ancestral type, to finding out what really nourishes you inside and out. I am also available for lectures, group counseling, and for developing corporate wellness programs. Please visit www.flyingdragonwellness.com to find out more, and to schedule your FREE one hour health consultation.
Until next time, Namaste. I honor the light within you.