I recently had some time to reflect back on the past year - I've been hearing from several people that they felt 2014 was a real time of change, growth and learning, and I must say the same was true for myself. Both professionally and personally I felt that 2014 was a real stepping stone towards a more focused, self-actualized life...perhaps some of this is just age and life experience!
I had the chance to sharpen my skills in several areas and also to appreciate what I do and see the huge impact that it can have on patients, friends and my own family.
Surprisingly, I had some real fulfillment in certain unexpected areas - for example, some of my most rewarding cases this year were treating chronically constipated children! There's nothing better than seeing the relief in a parent that has had to witness an uncomfortable child for weeks/months on end, not to mention the change in the child! Many of these children started to exhibit very negative behavior around bathroom visits, so being able to reverse their fear, stomach pain and general comfort was very rewarding (not to mention knowing that we reversed the potential for life-long digestive complaints and lowered the risk for chronic disease and illness).
My other area of real fulfillment was helping several of my fertility patients achieve healthy pregnancies. Being a mother myself, and knowing that it does not come easily to many women makes this an area of extreme satisfaction - there's nothing greater than witnessing the miracle of pregnancy and birth, and also being able to meet the babies once they are born! I hope to continue working with women to improve fertility using specific nutrition, acupuncture and lifestyle interventions (and of course working with the babies to set them up for great health)!
I have to say however that life is still very much pulling me in the direction of 'prevention', which means working with people to make small interventions that result in big changes. Specifically nutrition and general fitness. I seem to be working more and more with moms, as they try to find balance and restore their own health (and that of their family's) after life, work, stress and obligations get in the way! They are often look for weight-loss, fitness ideas, menu planning and and increase in energy levels. I find it extremely rewarding working in this area because I notice that moms are often the cornerstone of health in the family - they are the ones scheduling medical and dental appointments, menu planning and grocery shopping. Moms have such a huge capacity to change the health of the entire family, which also seems to trickle down into the extended family (their own parents, siblings etc). I will continue reaching out to this amazing population of women, and am in the process of creating an exciting new program for them that should be ready for this spring (stay tuned:)
I'm also very excited and honored to be part of the Life Watchers course at the Goodness Me store that recently opened...I really think it's going to change lives in Barrie, and from the traffic that the store is getting it seems like Barrie was in need of a store like this! Can't wait to meet all the new patients and students that are motivated to make some amazing new changes in their lives! I hope you are as pumped and motivated for 2015 as I am - may you all embrace
the adventures that await you, and when life gives you lemons, make some lemonade (with a pinch of cayenne and maple syrup)!
Dr. Anna Falkowski HBSc, ND
Naturopathic Doctor, Clinic Director
info@vitalityforlife.ca
www.vitalityforlife.ca
Twitter: @NaturoDoctor
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I'm a little obsessed with these two items at the moment. Sometimes when we get bored with our flavors it's nice to experiment with something a little different:
