Dr. Orna Izakson
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Winter light.1/13/21#WalkingWithOrna #OptOuts Winter light.1/13/21#WalkingWithOrna #OptOutside #GoForAWalk #NatureCures #NatureFix #WildClouds #BestOfPortland #BestOfOregon #PNWLife #PNWLiving #radgirlslife #vitaminN #cascadia #WinterSkies #BlueSky
The thing I find most distressing about all the va The thing I find most distressing about all the vaccine selfies is the ubiquity of boring Band-Aids.When it’s my turn, I will bring my own.And a lollipop.#healthbling #beyondbasic #needlephobia #doitanyway #prevention
These pictures are old, taken a month or two ago b These pictures are old, taken a month or two ago before this conifer lost its needles.Yes, this is larch (sometimes called tamarack) and it’s a conifer that is not an evergreen.As you can see, the needles turn a brilliant gold in the fall. And then they fall off.Larch is pretty amazing. Its wood contains compounds uniquely supportive of the immune system (arabinogalactan), in addition to the regular old vitamin C you get from the needles. [PMID: 23339578]As a flower essence it’s one of the most important I use. It helps address deep insecurity and imposter syndrome. As you can imagine, I use it a fair bit in practice.After the crazy day yesterday, and with no assurances that today will be less so, I wanted to post something that was at least beautiful.I’m also going to refer to it in the third video in my plant ID series. So hit save on this one so you can find it in a few days when that video drops.I’m so happy to live among the larches, the needle-dropping (deciduous) pine.
Forward!I forgot that this was supposed to be my Forward!I forgot that this was supposed to be my first image of the new year. You know, because it’s clearly about stepping forward. (And that light!)I went on a walk instead.🤷🏽‍♀️
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But it is the first week beyond the holiday. We’ve had some time to see if resolutions do or don’t work, and some time to redirect accordingly.I feel a little more woken up this week than I did around the holiday. Yesterday was a great one for starting to get things done.On today’s plate are some things both purposeful and mundane. Like finishing my end-of-year inventory. Like writing up proposals to speak at professional conferences.In 2021 I’ll be talking a lot more about my work with mental wellness and the specific tools I use.Because we’re still in survival mode.Because old issues are arising for many of us.Because recovering – when we finally get to recover – will bring its own set of emotional challenges.i’m working on a new name for this process, too, since the old one is both confusing and not very evocative.But I’m super excited about it right now.Yesterday I had a great session with a client, where we started following threads to her key underlying patterns.She’s picking up her first formula today. We have the direction laid out for going forward, clearing the internal obstacles between her and her joy, passion and purpose.Today I am applying to teach about this at one of my national professional conferences. Because this work is so important, so powerful and so fun. And because there need to be more of us doing it.This is supposed to be the people’s medicine, but it’s gotten lost. I hope to fix that, or, at least, help.So how is your forward feeling these days? Can you see your road? Are you starting to walk it?
A small dose of end-of-the-year calm for you.#Na A small dose of end-of-the-year calm for you.#NatureFix #NatureCures #StressRelief #OptOutside #GoForAWalk #WalkingWithOrna #Confluence #Cascadia #PNWLove #PNWLife #PNWLiving #BestOfPortland #HerbalistDoctor #radgirlslife #RememberToBreathe #EndOf2020 #EndOfTheYear #NewYearsEve
2000 in 2020!Thanks to everyone who helped me re 2000 in 2020!Thanks to everyone who helped me reach this benchmark!A little (re)introduction since it's been a while:🩺I'm a licensed naturopathic doctor in Oregon and Alaska.🌱I'm a registered herbalist through the @americanherbalistsguild.✍🏼Before going into medicine, I was an environmental journalist covering ecosystems — forests, fisheries, climate.💡"Doctor" comes from the Latin word "docere," which means to teach. So combining my journalism background with doctoring is just what I do.I believe that medicine isn't something you only get in a doctor's office. It's in our kitchens, our homes, our windowsills, our yards, our neighborhoods and the landscapes in which we live.What you'll find on my feed is some health info (but no medical advice), some Vitamin N, some food as medicine, a whole lot of plant geeking.💪🏼I want to help empower *you* with tools for health. Humans don't come with a user's manual, and I want to help fix that.(Find a bunch of free downloads through the link in my bio👆🏼. And check out my live webinar on New Year's Day!)Some things I AM:
✅Antiracist
✅Pro science
✅Woowoo, too (flower essences, ordained high clergy)
✅Bioregionally minded
Extroverted
✅Up front about my biases
✅Unapologetically geeky, especially about plantsSome things I'm NOT:
❌A fan of fads
❌A victim blamer
❌A hate enabler
❌Contrary for the sake of being contrary
❌Into MLMsGot questions you'd like my take on? Just comment below👇🏼 or shoot me a DM. (Again, I can't offer medical advice on social media, but can explain how things work.)And if you know folks who'd be interested in my take on health, please do tag them and share my posts!(BTW, everyone says that because it tells the IG algorithm that what we're sharing is valid and useful. Your participation helps spread the word beyond the individuals you share with.)Thank you again for joining me on this journey. And here's to making it through 2020, with hopefully some smoother days coming soon.Salúd!—Dr. Orna
On Monday I got an email from one of the supplemen On Monday I got an email from one of the supplement companies I work with.The message header read: “Come Detox With Us!”The rest of the email invited practitioners to join a group detox program to “Reclaim Your Health” — “a group program specifically designed for you (and your staff and family) to show how easy it is to do with your own patients."We'd use their products (discount codes! store credit for testimonials!) They’d walk us through the program. We’d be able to tell (sell) our patients to do the same with us.I don’t mean to pick on this company. I do like them quite a lot. But it's a perfect example of what wellness commerce looks like for the weeks on either side of New Year’s.Dates may feel arbitrary, especially this year. But they still give us goalposts and opportunities to rethink and reset. So naturally the wellness industry wants to help — and cash in.Yes, we have real exposures to toxics that impede our health.But I remain convinced that most people don’t need fancy programs, you need basic information about how the body works and the choices you make that can help it.And a lot of it involves simple things you already knew to do.2020 taught us that we can figure out a lot on our own, from haircuts to kitchen skills. Health is a little more complicated, which is how I’m trying to help.To help you navigate the end-of-year hype about “detoxification” and “cleansing” I'm offering in an online discussion.In it, I'll demystify the process your body already uses and giving you simple, accessible tools to support it.(I’ll also share cautionary tales from my practice, in which people with the best intentions harmed themselves with appropriately chosen products.)Think of it as a user’s manual for this aspect of your health.WHAT: The Truth About Detox and Cleansing
WHEN: 2 p.m. PST Friday, January 1, 2021
WHERE: Live on your computer/device
PRICE: FREE
SALES PITCH: NoneCan’t make it live? I'll have recordings available for registered participants — but only for a limited time.Please register (link in my bio) and share with friends who want to improve their health in 2021.Salúd!—Dr. Orna
Tonight is the final full moon of 2020.It’s cl Tonight is the final full moon of 2020.It’s cloudy here, so I probably won’t be able to see it. This picture is from last night, which was pretty close to full.Some people find they are more agitated during the full moon. Some people find they don’t sleep as well.If that’s you, try thinking of it as the excitement of a rising tide.How amazing is it that we can be sensitive to these things? Or, how amazing is it that we don’t think we can be sensitive to these things?If you can see the moon tonight, make a point of saying hello. Since it’s something people can see everywhere in the world, I like to think about bouncing love off of it to all my far-flung friends.So I’m bouncing some big full moon love to all y’all tonight, whether I can see its face or not.Salúd!– Dr. Orna
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