Resource Library

homeopathy Arti Mehta, BHMS, Extern at CCHM homeopathy Arti Mehta, BHMS, Extern at CCHM

What is Homeopathy?

Curious about what exactly homeopathy is? Learn how this natural, holistic treatment works and why homeopathy tailors remedies to individual symptoms. This article explains how homeopathy can address your unique health needs through a mild and effective approach to healing.

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homeopathy Arti Mehta, BHMS, Extern at CCHM homeopathy Arti Mehta, BHMS, Extern at CCHM

Practitioner Spotlight: Meet Arti

Arti finds joy in helping her patients achieve mental, emotional, and physical wellness. Currently, as an Extern at the Canadian College of Homeopathic Medicine (CCHM), Arti is offering subsidized consultation to develop individualized treatment plans for her patients to address the underlying cause of their sickness. Her work, supervised by a CCHM Supervisor, reflects her commitment to providing effective and accessible care.

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Andrea Empey, R.Ac, CNP, R.O.H.P. Andrea Empey, R.Ac, CNP, R.O.H.P.

Eat the Rainbow!

Discover the vibrant world of "Eat the Rainbow," a guide to enriching your diet with the colors of nature. It's an invitation to transform your meals into a palette of nutrients and flavors, promoting better digestion and health. Embrace variety, simplicity, and creativity in your culinary journey.

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Holistic Health, Men's Health, Mental Health, Women's Health Andrea Empey, R.Ac, CNP, R.O.H.P. Holistic Health, Men's Health, Mental Health, Women's Health Andrea Empey, R.Ac, CNP, R.O.H.P.

How to Change Your Habits and Make it Stick - Part 3

We can’t stop habits from forming and nor do we want to!  Habits help us!  Habits are great when they work for us and not against us.  Whenever we want to change our routines, we need to change our habits.  This is especially true every time there’s a change in season or a change in routine.  Think back to the end of August and the beginning of September.  There’s a lot of change in a couple short weeks.  Not having habits and routines that support you can make changing things harder than it needs to be.

Changing habits can be as easy as making the new habit easy or making something we want to stop doing more difficult.  As humans, we naturally gravitate towards easy over hard - let that work for you in this case!

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Mental Health, Holistic Health Rebecca Graves, RH, CH Mental Health, Holistic Health Rebecca Graves, RH, CH

Back to School: 10 Study Habits for Students of Every Age

Personally, I am currently pursuing a degree in Health Sciences. Navigating my path back to academia as a mature learner has introduced its own set of challenges, including the delicate juggling act of harmonizing work, family commitments, and scholarly pursuits. I've also had to embrace the task of acquainting myself with emerging technologies, all the while recognizing that my ability to absorb copious volumes of new information is not quite as swift as it once was.

Incorporating the demands of learning into an already busy life has compelled me to become very efficient in learning and coursework. I have been intentional in creating study habits that give me the best chance of staying on top of coursework and being successful in exams.

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Holistic Health, Women's Health, Men's Health, Mental Health, Complementary Health Andrea Empey, R.Ac, CNP, R.O.H.P. Holistic Health, Women's Health, Men's Health, Mental Health, Complementary Health Andrea Empey, R.Ac, CNP, R.O.H.P.

Health - What is it really?

"Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." - Health as defined by the World Health Organization

I've come to believe that if I want to thrive, I must invest in my health. If I want to merely survive, I can treat health as an expense and treat symptoms as they arise.  For years I treated my health as an expense and opted for the cheapest solution.  I struggled with iron deficiency anemia, chronic fatigue syndrome, debilitating periods and more.  Unlike most practitioners, I understand chronic illness and the struggles it creates because I’ve lived with it.

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Counselling Alicia Niewiatowska, RSW Counselling Alicia Niewiatowska, RSW

Perils of Working from Home

COVID-19 has transformed many aspects of our lives- some for better, others for worse. One such transformation has been the seismic shift in the workplace.

Working-from-home (sometimes shortened to WFH) started as a distancing necessity, requiring us all to become proficient in video conference calls and virtual meetings. Employers and employees have both capitalized on this expanded flexibility, geographic freedom, and commute-eliminating savings. 

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Holistic Health, Mental Health, Complementary Health Rebecca Graves, RH, CH Holistic Health, Mental Health, Complementary Health Rebecca Graves, RH, CH

Hypnosis and Chronic Illness – A Pathway to Healing

Living with a chronic illness is an immense challenge that affects millions of people worldwide. Traditional medical treatments often focus on managing symptoms, but what if there was an alternate approach that could tap into the mind's innate healing abilities? Hypnosis is a therapeutic technique that employs the power of suggestion and deep relaxation to alleviate symptoms and improve the overall well-being of individuals with chronic illnesses.

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Holistic Health, Complementary Health Rebecca Graves, RH, CH Holistic Health, Complementary Health Rebecca Graves, RH, CH

The Bitter Truth

In my twenty plus years as a herbalist, there has been one class of remedy that people have complained about consistently – the digestive bitter.

We, as herbalists, are not being cruel or perverse when we recommend that you take one. We know the bitter flavour can come as a bit of a shock to folks used to the average North American diet, but bitters have a plethora of benefits that really do make them worthwhile.

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Holistic Health, Complementary Health Rebecca Graves, RH, CH Holistic Health, Complementary Health Rebecca Graves, RH, CH

Bioregional Herbalism

One of the things I love about being a herbalist is the variety of my work. My day may be spent with clients, taking histories and assessing issues. It may be spent in a deep dive into academic literature, as there is always more to learn and new research to keep up with. And it is often, especially in the growing season, spent outside, planting and tending to my herb gardens, or foraging for wild herbs in woods and meadows. Then there is the slow process of drying herbs for teas, making tinctures, salves, and other plant-based medicines.

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Holistic Health, Complementary Health Rebecca Graves, RH, CH Holistic Health, Complementary Health Rebecca Graves, RH, CH

Christmas Tree Tea

It’s that time of year when Christmas and New Year’s celebrations are over, and we’re settling in for a few months of cold, snowy weather. And with Winter come seasonal colds, sore throats, and runny noses. 

Being a backyard herbalist is so much easier in the summer when there is an abundance of medicinal weeds and wildflowers, but even in the depths of winter, there are herbal remedies to be found. This one is a great remedy for runny noses and mucousy coughs, and has the added benefit of being right in your living room – it’s your Christmas tree! 

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Mental Health, Holistic Health, Women's Health Dancing Willow Wellness Mental Health, Holistic Health, Women's Health Dancing Willow Wellness

Accepting Your Body as an Act of Rebellion

“I’m so bad”, she states as she reaches for a cookie. “No I can’t, I’m trying to be good” as she declines an offer of a homemade muffin. We’ve all heard these phrases, and have probably said them, or something similar, ourselves. When we pause to reflect on these phrases, we can discern how we’re assigning moral value to food choices. Letting what we eat determine whether we’re “good” or “bad”. Our worth is not based on which foods we choose to eat or choose not to eat. 

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Holistic Health Rebecca Graves, RH, CH Holistic Health Rebecca Graves, RH, CH

The Art of Making Tea

I grew up in England, so I may be biased, but I believe there is nothing quite as soothing to the soul as a good cup of tea.

Just taking the time to sit down for a few minutes, to be still, to feel the comforting warmth of a cup in your hands, is a balm for busy days. And if your hands happen to be wrapped around a cup of herbal tea, you may also benefit from the healing properties of those herbs. You may be surprised to know that there is an art to making a good herbal tea. It’s not hard to do, but it can greatly improve the quality of your tea.

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Holistic Health Dancing Willow Wellness Holistic Health Dancing Willow Wellness

Bouncing Back After a Fall

If you fall, you could break a bone, like thousands of older men and women do each year. For older people, a break can be the start of a more serious problem like a trip to the hospital, a permanent disability, or even a move to a long-term care home.

More than one in three people aged 65 years or older fall each year. The risk of falling and fall-related problems rises with age.

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Holistic Health, Women's Health, Complementary Health Andrea Empey, R.Ac, CNP, R.O.H.P. Holistic Health, Women's Health, Complementary Health Andrea Empey, R.Ac, CNP, R.O.H.P.

Practitioner Spotlight: Meet Andrea

Are you looking for a practitioner who is kind, compassionate, empathetic and understands the health struggles you’re experiencing?

Andrea’s near encyclopaedic wealth of knowledge combines perfectly with her calm and compassionate nature to deliver an outstanding level of care.

At Dancing Willow Wellness, we pride ourselves on patient-centred care, and Andrea exemplifies this principle. She is always ready to meet patients where they’re at, and use her skills, expertise, and warmth to bring them closer to where they want to be.

Patients feel supported and heard throughout their journey and appreciate her kindness as well as the great results they achieve.

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Holistic Health, Mental Health Andrea Empey, R.Ac, CNP, R.O.H.P. Holistic Health, Mental Health Andrea Empey, R.Ac, CNP, R.O.H.P.

How to Create Daytime Habits to Support Sleep

Ever wonder why you have a great sleep one night and then a less than stellar sleep another night?

Do you struggle to get even a decent night’s sleep? Have you got your bedroom optimized and your bedtime routine down and you’re still struggling?

What you do during the day has a profound effect on how well you sleep each night!

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Mental Health, Holistic Health Rebecca Graves, RH, CH Mental Health, Holistic Health Rebecca Graves, RH, CH

Positive Self-Talk

Have you ever told yourself to remember not to do something, only to do it anyway?

A number of years ago, I took a college course that required a final exam. As my children were still young, I arranged to drop them off with my parents on the day of the exam. I had, coincidently, misplaced my spare car key.

So, driving the children to my parent’s house, anxious about this exam to begin with, and now concerned about losing my remaining car key, I reminded myself over and over, “don’t lock the keys in the car… don’t lock the keys in the car...” And of course, that is exactly what I ended up doing – I walked the children into their grandparent’s house and came back out to find I had locked the car and left the keys in the ignition.

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Women's Health, Mental Health, Counselling Dancing Willow Wellness Women's Health, Mental Health, Counselling Dancing Willow Wellness

Time to have a Chat About Stress

We’ve all had our fair share of stress over the last few years with the pandemic and all that’s come from that. Some of you have felt more stress with the loss of work, while others have felt like they have been working like a dog. Some people have been called heroes by some and spit on by others. We’ve also seen one of the most concerning protests in Canada in recent memory. All these events add stress to our lives!

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