Well, 2025 was certainly a year. Despite that, here are some of favorite things from 2025, most of which I’m bringing with me into the New Year. I hope they’ll spark your interest, too, so we can all get more joy out of 2026.
One: I got back to the gym.
This actually started at the very, very end of last December, on a Friday evening.
A couple of days earlier I finally got fed up of years of isolation and relative inactivity that started with my old gym closing a few weeks into the start of the (it’s still a) pandemic. I decided to mask up and try a few places. If you’re interested, ask about the hilarious disaster of that first spin class someday. Spoiler: It was also my last spin class. I will name names.
Here I’m halfway through a front squat, with 31kg on the barbell.
I had been on the ClassPass app for years, but had never used it. Through that I found the spin gym (fail) and then weightlifting gym quite close to my house. So I signed up for a class, showed up on that Friday evening, and… it turns out they had no idea who I was or why ClassPass still had them listed.
They let me stay, but it was quickly apparent that I’d need instruction on Every Single Thing since I’d never done any of it before. Trying not to cry in my KN95 mask, I told them it would take too much of their time. But Coach Cole, the gym’s owner, invited me to stay. He showed me literally everything. He adapted what needed adapting to my state of out-of-shape.
I’ve been a member since the start of the year, and now go thrice weekly barring health issues, holiday closures (sad face) or travel.
One sample accomplishment: In November I hit a personal deadlift record, beating my previous max from 2018. I deadlifted 60kg (132 pounds) three times in a row. That number will eventually go higher still.
I’m not in it to lose weight or to compete. I’m in it to be strong and maintain my mobility. It’s a win to be able to do these workouts at all. But seeing my strength increase is a lovely dopamine boost!
Two: I ditched the microplastics + discovered some amazing tea
Also early in the year, I was honored to join the expert speakers at NUNM’s Environmental Medicine conference (My talk: Dude, where’s my coffee? True Stories of Plant Foods + Medicines in the Climate Crisis.) While the concept of microplastics wasn’t new to me, understanding the scope of problem and related health issues was not for the faint of heart.
One astounding factoid: Most tea bags are made with plastic, and become a significant contributor to our microplastic body burdens. (Read more here, here and here.)
Meanwhile, I’d just started getting into tea. (Yes, I’m an herbalist. No, tea wasn’t a big part of my daily. That was changing.) Black tea, green tea, but Camelia sinensis tea. With caffeine.
So I contacted the tea company I was addicted to, asking about microplastics in their (so convenient) tea bags. Unsurprisingly, they offered no clear response.
Then I remembered that an old activist friend and his spouse had started the super-cool, ecogroovy Lake Missoula Tea Company, offering artisanal and organic loose-leaf tea.
So I went down that rabbit hole. I tried a bunch of things, learned to make tea properly, figured out what I liked, and here I am.
Apparently, water temperature matters — and varies depending on the tea type. Another friend told me that getting a kettle with adjustable temperature settings is life changing. I hemmed and hawed, but eventually succumbed. My tea is getting cold as I write this.
So Lake Missoula Tea Company is now my go-to, and you should check them out. Not only do they have a great selection of true tea (Camelia sinensis) with more and less caffeine, but they’ve got great herbal options as well. There’s even a mushroom blend! Don’t worry if you live far, far away: call their awesome customer service staff in the Missoula, Montana, brick and mortar shop if you need help deciding.
My current favorites, if you need someplace to start:
- Birdsong Black, an organic Colombian black tea
- Chunmee Green, organic from China
- Roasted Tie Guan Yin, an organic Chinese oolong
- The prettiest temperature-adjustable tea kettle is the Fellow Corvo.
- If you need a larger kettle, check out the Saki Luna. This is the one I ended up with. It’s not double-walled, but I’m pretty happy with it.
Three: I added skills to help patients sleep
This year, I went on a deep dive into understanding sleep. It started by studying with Dr. Nishi Bhopal, an MD sleep specialist and psychiatrist. I created and taught two courses on herbal medicine and sleep, one a conference at National University of Natural Medicine and the second for functional-psychiatry program Psychiatry Redefined.
But the big hit of the year was taking the plunge to formally study Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia.
I find it interesting that this is simultaneously the most naturopathic and the best-researched treatment I now offer — and it’s not something I remember even hearing about in med school.
If you’re not familiar with CBT-I, it’s the first-line, evidence-based treatment for insomnia. It was developed by the US Veteran’s Administration, and has tons of scientific research behind it. CBT-I involves no drugs, but works by changing thoughts (cognitions) and actions (behaviors) to help people get back to sleep naturally.
Despite being recognized as the first step in treating insomnia, before drugs or even herbs, few folks have heard of CBT-I. And fewer have access to it.
In September I started my training through the Stanford Sleep Health and Insomnia Program, and by October it became a key component of my practice.
I’ve got a couple of not-great blog posts about it, if you’d like to read more. (See them here and here. Patients in Alaska and Oregon can book appointments here.)
Four: I read some wonderful books
My two nonfiction, non-textbook favorites are Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker, and The Light Eaters by Zoë Schlanger. .
Walker’s topic is self explanatory, and he does an excellent job of laying out the science behind sleep in a deeply entertaining and still geeky way. After reading this book you’ll really get why every doctor on the planet wants you to get good sleep. (Including me.)
Schlanger’s book is about plants, and specifically about all the cool ways plants do things that, were they animals, we’d consider intelligent. Apparently, the concept of “plant intelligence” is deeply disdained in the scientific community, and the author explains how that came to be. Then she looks at every measure of intelligence as defined by humans, and explains how scientists are finding plants do similar things — just in different ways than humans do.
As a fan of science fiction, this reminds me of stories where humans encounter non-humanoid beings. How do we know if they’re “alive” or “sentient?” How do we communicate with something so fundamentally alien? I love that The Light Eaters ultimately challenges readers on exactly that axis. And of course, Earth’s plants are the absolute opposite of aliens — they’re our oldest allies and life bringers.
The list of favorite fiction books is much longer. (Thank you, Multnomah County Library!) Here are a few of them:
- The Weight of Ink, Rachel Kadish
- Akata Witch series, Nnedi Okorafor
- Who Fears Death, Nnedi Okorafor
- The Pomegranate Gate series, Ariel Kaplan
- Priory of the Orange Tree series, Samantha Shannon
- The Pairing, Casey McQuiston.
- A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking, T. Kingfisher
- The Martian Contingency, Mary Robinette Kowal. This is book 4 in the Lady Astronaut series. If you want to start at the beginning, and you do, check out The Calculating Stars.
Looking ahead to 2026
What does the new year hold? Some of the same and some new adventures.
I’ve got some travel planned (the best way to combat burnout), and hope to share some cool info about local-to-there herbal medicines.
The online course I’ve been teasing is moving ahead, albeit glacially. I’m hoping for a spring launch. Keep your eyes on this space!
I’m also building up resource pages on my websites. This started a couple of years ago with the Naturopathic Climate Alliance. Now I’m curating research links about some super cool herbal medicines. It’s not the only or even best place to find these, but it’s one place you might get started.
You’ll find me on some upcoming herbal podcasts (similar to the one I did this year with Rosalee de la Foret), doing live office hours for Psychiatry Redefined, and teaching with my friend Mel.
I’m continuing my role as Vice President of the Alaska Association of Naturopathic Doctors. We’d love your help in our fight for prescribing rights — something Oregon NDs have enjoyed safely and effectively for decades.
And of course look for more here and on my social channels about sleep health, optimal eating, and functional mental health.
Wishing you the best for 2026!
—Dr. Orna
