Yes. Her Table is about our financial health. But it's also about our WHOLE selves. It's about understanding, embracing and holding with tender powerful love and awe all the things that make up our lives. And that includes our physical health. So many of my clients spend a considering amount of time thinking that there is something wrong with us becuase we are "hormonal." So I wanted to find out what that really means.
Question: How is something that happens to 100% of 50% of the population between the ages of 40 and 60 considered abnormal? The transition that women's bodies go through at the menopausal stage of life is actually amazingly and beautifully normal. It's also tricky and confusing and hard. The human body knows exactly what it's doing. When teens go through puberty we dont say "Oh, my goodness, something is seriously wrong with you!" (well, we might, but that's another post.) We say "Of course this is happening to your body." It is just a part of being growing up.
It's time we think of menopause and perimenopause the same way. It's a transition that human bodies go through that is both predictable and surprising. It's both annoying and beautiful. Its both empowering and full of grief. It's time we hold this expeirence with honor and love and kindness.
Nothing is wrong with us. AND we are having symptoms that we can wrap around, support, change and work with differently. There is a whole world of support out there and I want all of us to have better ability to understand and access that support.
So I have invited Laura Goff of Beacon Acupunture, Lisa Dickinson of Amber Wellness Group and Heather Pfeiffer of Providence Primary Care to gather together to explore how three different, but overlapping, approaches can create a holistic care package to nurture our hearts and bodies during this life transition. Let me introduce them to you:
Laura is in her 16th year of practicing acupuncture. When facilitating a smooth transition into the menopausal years, Laura follows the holistic East Asian Medicine point of view that everything is connected – body, mind and spirit – and we are whole, not broken. Laura uses Traditional East Asian Medicine diagnostic tools to decipher the root cause of what biomedicine might describe as hormonal imbalance. Laura provides acupuncture, herbal remedies, nutritional guidance, therapeutic exercises and other self care that address root imbalances and alleviates the symptoms that manifest. Laura is currently practicing acupuncture at Pinnacle Wellness Center in Tigard.
After 10 years in trauma and emergency care as a flight nurse, Heather Pfeiffer, FNP, decided she wanted to focus on keeping patients healthy and safe. Becoming a family practice nurse practitioner was her natural next step. In her practice, she emphasizes patient education to empower patients to be good decision-makers in their own care choices; whole, self-care for wellness; open communication; and partnering with patients in health. Heather is currently working on finishing up her speciality certification through the National Menopause Society.
Dr. Lisa Dickinson is a naturopathic physician committed to providing a breadth of women’s health care services to her patients. She authentically connects and is able to support women during their most difficult and vulnerable moments. Her honesty, compassion and steadfast commitment to providing women comprehensive care, especially with the complexities of women’s health and integrative cancer care, makes her a physician you want on your health care team. Over the years her practice has evolved, yet the heart of her medical practice philosophy has remained steadfast with a strong belief in the patient centered care model, which puts self-care, mind body medicine, and proper nutrition at the core of each person’s health and wellness.
Im so excited to have these women share their wisdom with us. This is what Her Table is all about.
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