As a child who suffered with headaches from birth trauma, it is my personal mission to help all people feel their best!  This includes newborns and children because they are afflicted with many types of conditions, need support for growth and optimal brain health, and thrive with improved quality of life!  The best part is, the entire family can benefit from NCR!  Please join me as Dr Hillary has  a one hour webinar on this unique structural therapy that the newborn and child in your life could benefit from!

March 26, 2013 6:00-7:00 pm PST

Nottingham and  Sherwood Forest

Nottingham, England is a beautiful "village" of around 300,000 people in the center of England.  Originally a University town, Nottingham is dotted with both old and new architecture. The Sherrif of Nottingham, Robin Hood, this was once their haunts, and the accent of the native Nottingham resident is like a bird singing a song, so beautiful.   My hosts, Don and Sarah Camilleri have an amazing flat right in the heart of Nottingham.  Don, an engineer by trade is introducing me to what I believe will be a strong part of the Wild River Spa concept.  Don is originally from the small island of Malta (close to Sicily) and arriving on a Sunday night meant I was treated to his Sunday Maltese dinner- chicken, tomato pastry, and of course wine.

Don, besides being a fabulous cook, is the design and mastermind behind a concept that was adopted from Holland, Centre Parcs.  Center Parcs is day break and holiday village, started in dense woodlands creating an ecosystem with lakes, streams, and sustainably built cabins/houses, treehouses, and a village center complete with resturants, swimming facilities, stores, hiking, biking, playgrounds, sailing, golf, and the spa- Aqua Sana. 

 Sherwood Forest is just North of Nottingham, the land of Robin Hood.  Twenty five years ago Don walked through Sherwood's dense woodlands, with not much ecosystem, water, or wildlife.  Now the forest is teeming with deer and small animals.  There is a lake for sailing, kayaking, and streams that are fishable. No cars are allowed in the village- only bikes and walking, so for the full week that guests are in the village, their car stays parked outside and the beauty of the forest is not scarred by the sounds of cars, and thus is very safe and promotes activity.  There is an entire sporting facility, two bowling alleys, the waterpark with slides and a moving river.  Center Parcs is teaming with families, (4000 people per week are staying in the village), and offers a holiday vacation like no other. 

 In the center of Centre Parcs is Aqua Sana- a community spa that Don has created from the ground up.   Adopted from the Austrian concept, the Aqua Sana Spa is tailored for everyone (over age 16), and sends the goer through different healing rooms of water, heat, cold, and relaxation, using nature as a central theme.  The list of experience rooms are as follows: Aqua Meditation Room, Finish Sauna, Greek Herbal Bath, Ice Fountain, Indian Blossom Steam room, Japanese Salt Steam Room, Japanese Zen Garden, Laconium, Multi-sensory Showers, Outdoor Heated Spa Pool, Reflexology Foot Baths, Tepidarium, Turkish Hamman, Tyrolean Garden, Tyrolean Sauna, and Water Beds.

With all those choices, there is a well mapped out routine that each visitor does, travels from cooler to hotter rooms, resting, hydrating, showering and swimming along the way.  It takes about 3 hours to do the entire facility as prescribed.  There are also ample wellness treatments to chose from: massages to mud wraps, reflexology to ear candles.  With a beautiful cafe serving Italian fare, prossecco, and of course afternoon tea and cakes, Aqua Sana is a place to spend an entire day relaxing and rejuvenating, and is affordable, non pretenscious, and the staff is happy and helpful. After doing the 3 hour ritual of rooms, meditation garden, then a wonderful stone massage and facial  I felt lighter, calmer, and my jet lag started to lift.  

One big difference from the States is that Aqua Sana is co-ed.    The place is full of couples, young and old, enjoying their afternoon together soaking in the waters, detoxing in the saunas, and relaxing outside in the beauty of nature.  As I'll come to see on my travels deeper in Europe, the couples concept (and the inclusion of children)  becomes  an integral part of the healing experience.    Community and membership spas are a wonderful service, they provide a healthy and relaxing activity for the ever increasing stress disease, but can this work in the States where the spa culture is not yet developed?  Its a question I will continue to ponder as I move through this trip.  

Center Parcs was a wonderful first introduction to the world of European spa, thanks to Don and Sarah Camilleri, such amazing hosts and now friends!

Read more about Center Parcs here.

And to see more pictures of my trip- like our Facebook page!

Best in Health,

Doc

*Next stop, the French countryside

After a long week of work in the wide open spaces of Montana, not only 15 hours later, I find myself eating a croissant and drinking cappuccino in the Charles De Gaul Paris International Airport, Paris.   Today (well, yesterday) is the beginning of my three week European Wellness Adventure. It all started with my trip to Aspen, as my partners and I begin to roll out the Wild River Lodge and Wellness Spa in Washington. (Read my last blog to learn more about this)  Being invited to visit Britain, Scotland, France, and Austria to explore the oldest and newest therapies using the age old healing of water, mud, sound, light, and color, as well as share my knowledge about NCR and Naturopathic Medicine,  makes this not just a work trip, but a trip of a lifetime!

 Russia: The beginning of my medical wellness journey.

 I have only been to Europe once, on my way home from Russia where I did an internship in a sanatorium on the Black Sea for a summer.  There we witnessed entire sanitoriums run  with only mud, water, sun, massage, electrical, heat, and needle therapies prescribed by doctors from all over Russia.   In the States we call this "alternative", but in many parts of the world, that is REAL medicine.  It's cheaper, more sustainable, low force, and improves quality of life, not just relieving symptoms, and it's the basis of our Naturopathic Principles.  And, it's cheaper than expensive drugs and surgery.  

 EUROPE: Time to learn and learn some more

 With our current project we are looking to create a welllness center unlike anything in Washington, and it's now my job to figure out what it's going to entail, how big, what, etc etc.  It's a big job but after months of planning, I am leaving my layover at Paris for my first destination, Nottingham, Great Britain.  

 There lives Sarah Camilleri, the editor and publisher of European Spa Magazine (europeanspamagazine.com) who has so graciously invited me to spend my first  four days with her exploring central UK and the wellness retreats and treatments it has to offer.

I will then be traveling to middle France to visit a friends amazing countryside chateau, Paris, and then my wellness destination of Austria.  There I have been invited for a week of touring the most unbelievable wellness facilities in the world. From Salzburg I will be traveling back to Scotland to meet with another friend that I met in Aspen who is going to tour me around to some spas and the sights, and mostly to consult with him and his wife regarding NCR and their youngest daughter.  Then back to England, a trip to London and high tea and a possible chance to get a write up regarding NCR and our project in European Spa Magazine.  It will then be time to fly back over the pond to Miami to witness the launch of GFC's (my brokerage company) new product- Youth H20 (youthh2o.com).  

I can say that after 5 hours of driving, 2 hours of waiting, and 16 hours of flying, I'm waiting for the "crash", but the fact that yesterday I was driving through the great plains of Montana, and today I flew over the Eiffel Tower, my excitement is hard to hold back.  Stay tuned each day for an updates, pictures, and videos, it's bound to get interesting!  Now I have to finish the last episode of Dontown Abbey before the plane lands....

 Cheers, 

 Dr Hillary :)

On February 1st, Sky Valley Healing Arts had it's Grand Opening and it was a wonderful success!  With over 50 people in attendance, all the practitioners were able to share their vision of how SVHA can help our community.  Introducing Songcroft Naturals skin and body care, jewelry, music, and art by Alicia Tromblay and Kristina Montgomery, SVHA is honored to have so many wonderful connections in Snohomish, WA.  Visit our Facebook page to see all the wonderful photos, and watch for upcoming classes, events, and free talks regarding the unique and life changing servies we offer!  

Again thank you to everyone, our Success is your Health!

SVHA GRAND OPENING!

In the United States alone, the National Institute of Health ( www.nih.gov ) estimates that close to 1.4 million people are affected each year with Traumatic Brain Injury.  Traumatic Brain Injury is defined as a blow or jolt to the head, or a penetrating head injury that disrupts function of the brain. The severity of such an injury may range from "mild" i.e. a brief change in mental status or consciousness to "severe", i.e. an extended period of unconsciousness or amnesia after the injury. Of those 1.4 million TBI incidents per year, 1.1 million are the classic concussions that are medically evaluated and then sent home to watch, rest, and recover. 

Now add the millions who never seek medical attention after sustaining a mild to moderate concussion, and the statistics of accident victims who don't actually hit their head, but sustain what are called acceleration-deceleration injuries like whiplash, spinal traumas, or hits to the body that result in the brain "hitting" the skull, and the head trauma numbers become staggering.

Populations that are most affected by head trauma and TBI are:

1) Men:  They participate in contact/impact sports, have higher rates of assaults, and tend to work "higher" risk jobs. 

2) Children between the ages of 0-4: think of your average toddler learning to walk, jumping off the coffee table, falling down the stairs, and being at the mercy of older siblings and adults.

3) Teenagers between 15-19.

4) Military: combat personnel are exposed to mortar attacks and "brain rattling" booms that alter brain function. There are thousands of veterans returning from duty in Afghanistan and Iraq who look normal and never sustained a penetrating head wound, but have brains that are damaged.

Even "minor" hits on a repetitive basis can cause biochemical and structural brain change, relating to many long term symptoms and diagnoses such as ADHD, Depression, Migraine, Fibromyalgia, OCD/Anxiety, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's Dementia. A recent study commissioned by the National Football League (NFL) reports that Alzheimer's disease or similar memory-related diseases appear to have been diagnosed in the league's former players vastly more often than in the national population - including a rate of 19 times the normal rate for men ages 30 through 49. 

Increased scrutiny of head trauma and how to prevent it is a hot topic of discussion in the medical world today. Treatment options however remain minimal and consist of watch and wait, medications such as anti-seizure, anti-depressant, narcotics, and possible behavioral therapy.  Structural integrity and nutrient imbalances experienced by the brain after trauma are important to address.

 NeuroCranial Restructuring (NCR), a structural therapy that addresses cranial shape, cerebral spinal fluid dynamics, and connective tissue tensions throughout the skull and muscular system can help treat the symptoms of head trauma.  NCR can restore balance, decrease or eliminate symptoms of headaches, pain, mental imbalance, and improve blood flow. It is only minimally invasive, requires no drugs, no anesthesia, and most patients walk out feeling better than when they arrived.

Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy (PEMFT), of which we offer in our clinic,  has also shown results in helping diminish symptoms of head trauma.  Headaches are a common symptom of head trauma, PEMFT has been shown to decrease  headache pain and intensity.  

"In the active-treatment group, all assessed criteria were significantly improved at the end of the migraine/headache study. 76% of active-treatment patients experienced clear or very clear relief of their complaints. Only 1 placebo-patient (2.5%) felt some relief; 8% noted slight and 2% reported significant worsening of symptoms. No side effects were noted. " Advances in Therapy   PMID: 11571822

Addressing the biochemical imbalances with drugs, nutrients, and hormones, can also help improve recovery outcomes. NCR and PEMFT, when used in conjunction with a biochemical protocol, can have amazing outcomes for those suffering from the short and long term effects of head trauma. 

Quality of life is important to everyone, so if you or someone you love is living with lasting effects of Traumatic Brain Injury or head trauma, seek out all your options.  In the meantime, wear your helmet, your seat belt, and avoid activities that involve hitting your head- your BODY and BRAIN with thank you.

 Dr Hillary 

The Basics Of Head Trauma & NCR

About This Video:

Dr. Hillary gives a simple 6 minute introduction to the basics of how to treat the effects of head trauma with NeuroCranial Restructuring (NCR). She covers the three classes of concussion, the leading causes of traumatic brain injury (TBI), who is most at risk for TBI (men, children and teens, athletes, and military personnel) and why, statistics about TBI, common treatments, and why NCR improves the fluid dynamics in the head and neck to improve the neurological function of the body.

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The Basics Of Head Trauma & NCR