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Natural Awakenings South Central Pennsylvania

May is Lyme Disease Awareness month

Dave Korba

May flowers, Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day, the Kentucky Derby and perhaps some semblance of spring weather… these are a few things in store for us all this month, and I have my fingers crossed about the weather. I suppose snow squalls in May would be quite an event.

Named for Maia, the Greek goddess of fertility, May is the month we typically acknowledge and celebrate the energy of the divine feminine as nature’s cycle of rebirth blooms into full splendor.  It’s time to embrace the warm weather, get out the hiking and camping gear and reengage with nature, especially if you’ve been tucked away all winter. 

May is also Lyme Disease Awareness month. Please be mindful of ticks and see Tina Prins’ article on page 17 to obtain your Lyme prevention brochure and tick identification card.

This month, we also explore natural and personalized medicine. At a time when health care costs continue to skyrocket, we are at the forefront of a groundswell movement to take an honest look at the state of our national health and the current systems that perpetuate chronic illness.

Arguably one of the biggest challenges we face today is chronic disease, conventional medicine is failing to effectively address it, and there has never been a better time to embrace a different paradigm. We need a better approach that addresses the underlying causes of medical conditions, as opposed to just treating or masking symptoms.

We have a number of physicians and practitioners that are working independently and in concert with traditional modalities and making a difference within our community. These are the practitioners who approach healthcare by examining diet, lifestyle, genetics, gut bacteria, thyroid function and more. The functional philosophy looks at individual factors and embraces a collaborative approach that accepts the utility of conventional medicine in appropriate cases, but also understands the limitations and negative consequences in others.

In our Wise Words department, we talk with Kelly Noonan-Gores, producer, writer and director of the documentary HEAL. The film helps set the stage for shifting the paradigm of personal responsibility for our own healing, and points out that 90 percent of what takes people to the doctor are stress-related illnesses.

The constant state of stress-induced fight-or-flight response in the body leads to a chemically compromised immune system. Visit HealDocumentary.com for a glimpse of a scientific and spiritual journey where we will discover that our thoughts, beliefs and emotions have a huge impact on our health and ability to heal.

The sun is finally shining; time for a nice walk on the path toward feeling good, living simply and laughing more. Happy May!