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Clinic Holiday Wishes and Schedule
From the Cypress Natural Medicine Team, we wish you all good health and a joyous holiday season!
Holiday closure schedule: December 24, 2021 to January 9, 2021 inclusive) We re-open at 9am on January 10, 2022.
If you would like to get in touch, please email us at frontdesk@cnmhealth.com. This will ensure the fastest response once we re-open. If you need to schedule an appointment, please use our online scheduler by clicking here and follow the instructions at the top of the page.
Thank you!
FREE MASTERCLASS: Biohacking Secrets for Spontaneous Healing
Our next event is this Thursday, December 2 at 6pm Pacific Time.*
What we think, the beliefs we hold, and past experiences can hold us back from living the full lives we truly want (and deserve!). Join Dr. Destia as she explores the mind-body connection and offers ways to strengthen the nervous system and options to dig deeper.
Hear what some previous clients have said about working with Dr. Destia:
*This event will be recorded and made available to registered participants.
Thanksgiving Gratitude
Please note Cypress Natural Medicine will be closed on Thursday and Friday, November 25-26, 2021. We will reopen at 9am on Monday, November 29, 2021.
The Vagus Nerve
Could the root of your digestive distress like gas, bloating, heartburn and irritable bowel syndrome be in your nervous system?
How is the gut connected to the brain? Through the vagus nerve.
The vagus nerve functions as the body’s two-way, highway carrying information from the brain to the organs of the body and back. In particular, the heart, adrenal glands, gut, pancreas, and lungs. And they all react to chronic stress and trauma through this connection.
The vagus nerve stimulates these gut functions:
- The micromovements in your gut that move food through is called peristalsis
- The pancreas stimulation to release enzymes for digestion
- The release of stomach acid, hydrochloric acid (HCl)
- Intestinal permeability (when there is high permeability, it is known as Leaky Gut)
- The regulation of inflammation
This is important because research has found one of the key controls of inflammation is the vagus nerve. This means the vagus nerve is part of the process for switching inflammation on and off. It is well known that inflammation is at the root of the majority of chronic diseases.
The health of your gut depends highly on what kind of bacteria live in your gut. This is called your microbiome. A healthy microbiome will send a happy signal to your brain via this vagus nerve. Alternatively, an unhealthy population of bacteria will send distress signals to your brain. If we pay attention to our mood, we are listening to our microbiome literally speaking to us through the megaphone that is your vagus nerve. We can’t ignore these signals. This is why we cannot ignore the patient’s mood.
Here are some specific things that you can do daily for your gut-brain connection:
- Get outside and start Forest Bathing! Soak up the sights, smells and sounds of a natural setting. Scientific evidence demonstrates that forest bathing reduces our stress response and inflammation. It improves sleep quality and mood, increases energy, accelerates recovery from surgery or illness, lowers heart rate and blood pressure and even reduces stress hormones production. With these far reaching effects it should be on every treatment plan.
- Start every meal breathing! A series of 5 slow gentle breaths activate your vagus nerve and parasympathetic nervous system to stimulate the release and flow of digestive juices like enzymes and HCl.
- Gargle and hum every day! Your vagus nerve is toned and stimulated by these actions. Remember the vagus nerve can have a big impact on inflammation. We want to keep it happy and toned.
- Cold showers: cold therapy is shown to increase vagus response. A simple way to incorporate this into daily life is finishing every shower with a cold flush to the neck and chest before getting out of the shower.
- Meditation: This is shown to support vagal tone and activate your parasympathetic nervous system. My favorite easy way is HeartMath’s Quick Coherence Technique. I also like the Insight Timer App for the wide range of mediations available.
Remember how we said the vagus nerve is a two-way street? This means your mood affects your gut and your gut affects your mood.
There is so much more I want to say about gut health that is outside the scope of this blog entry.
I want to direct you to our Gut Quiz – uncover the true state of your gut health!
This quiz is important because we don’t know what we don’t know about the far-reaching implications your gut has on your current and future health.
Consider that even your mood could be a symptom of your gut health. Get an early start with Gut Health by exploring the root imbalances in your gut. 74% of the population are struggling with digestive issues but how many are getting the help they need?
You are invited to the Lifestyle Medicine Summit
Patients suffer from an array of chronic diseases like obesity, diabetes, pain, heart disease, cancer, anxiety, or depression. They are equally frustrated because they often find themselves going down a rabbit hole of managing their disease that never seems to end.
Fortunately, there’s a scientific solution that benefits practitioners and helps clients not just stop but even reverse chronic disease.
- It’s evidence-based
- Proven to be effective
- Personalized
- Empowering healthcare professionals and patients alike
This new promising field of practice has been extensively researched and has actually been practiced by thousands of doctors and allied health professionals for years.
If our lifestyle habits cause lifestyle disease, then shouldn’t we use lifestyle improvement to resolve them?
Experts agree that Lifestyle Medicine needs to play a vital part in healthcare.
But the big question is HOW:
- How can we make Lifestyle Medicine and Health Coaching accessible to everyone?
- How can practitioners integrate Lifestyle Medicine and get paid well, without the need to change workflow or hire expensive staff?
All these questions and many more will be answered by our 50+ speakers, researchers, and experts during the non-profit Lifestyle Medicine Online Summit Oct. 27 – 31, 2021. This summit is for anyone interested in preventive care and reversing chronic diseases – from patients to practitioners and health coaches.
As an additional bonus, we are giving away a limited number of premium ticket upgrades for FREE. All you have to do to get your chance to win one of these premium tickets is share a short 1-minute video on social media about why you are excited to see me and the many other incredible professionals speaking at this summit.
Don’t miss this chance! Premium access is valued at $3,315. Yes – you read that right: $3,315 value for FREE.
To qualify to win the FREE Premium Ticket, your video post must be set to public on your view privacy settings and you must tag @drskinnersonline for Instagram or Destia Skinner on Facebook. Don’t miss out on this once-a-year opportunity. Hear Dr. Destia speak at the Summit on Oct 31 on neuro-emotional health, the gut-brain connection and empathy!
See you there!
UPDATE: Revolutionary Gut Masterclass
Due to various requests, the Revolutionary Gut Masterclass will now be a self-study course, available to start at the end of October 2021! We truly appreciate the feedback from our webinar participants and those that have taken our Gut Quiz. Our main goal is to make improving people’s health more accessible and hearing that the preferred method for this course was as self-study, is extremely valuable to us. Thank you!
This change in format also means a huge reduction in cost. You can now gain access to the Revolutionary Gut Masterclass for $397 (previously $997!). And if you are one of the next twenty to sign up, you will receive $50 off.
The option to do a GI-Map test is still available to you and now you also have the option to sign up for a 4-session series of Rapid Reprogramming of Emotional Stress Technique (rREST®) with Dr Destia Skinner.
As a cornerstone objective of the Masterclass is to break bad habits and form new and healthy ones, the course is still 6 weeks and each module is released on a weekly basis.
If you have any questions, please email drskinner@revolutionaryhealth.com
Thank you,
Drs. Bryan and Destia Skinner
Introducing Revolutionary Health
First, we want to thank you for your continued support throughout Cypress Natural Medicine’s transition to a virtual clinic. We have been working diligently to create new ways to support your journey to become your own best health advocate.
Today, with great excitement, we introduce Revolutionary Health. Through Revolutionary Health, you will find our health-education offerings that will be fun, informative and ensure you walk away with a plan.
We hope you have seen our health support tips on Instagram and Facebook!
We are beginning with a FREE Revolutionary Gut Webinar on our 3 top secrets to eliminate bloating and digestive distress. We are extending a special invite to you as our trusted community. Please invite someone else who needs to hear this message by forwarding this email/link!
We are so excited to see you there! Please direct all questions to drskinner@revolutionary.health
In health,
Drs. Bryan and Destia
Immune Superhero Supplement Sale
Supporting our immune system has been at the top of all of our minds for the last year.
Our immune system is doing its job to fend off pathogens and keep us going. While the pandemic continues, our normal cold/flu season is upon us with exposure to various infective agents.
What do we do to support our families immune system? We get asked this question often.
How do we create a balanced immune system? In our 20+ years of natural integrative medicine we have seen some important factors to create a balanced immune response.
We share them with you below:
- Look to your gut- who lives in you and who you feed matters! The good guys balance our inflammatory response and the bad guys lead to a hyperinflammatory response. Your biggest immune organ as an adult is your gut.
One key is fiber fiber fiber and flavinoids, flavinoids, flavinoids (hint: these are found in the highest amounts in fruits and vegetables! )
Check out our Happy Gut Guide for more tips on your microbiome.
- Eat your plants and then eat more plants – research on a whole food concentrate that Dr. Bryan and I take shows that when eaten daily, the numbers and activity of immune cells increase. Research also shows the signaling molecules of the immune system increased while inflammation decreased. This response helps to create a balanced immune system response.
- Get out in the sunlight and take your vitamin D- unless you wear a loincloth while you are out and about running errands. Vitamin D3: People with low vitamin D3 levels were shown to be 40% more likely to get a respiratory infection than those with normal levels. Levels can be easily tested with a simple blood test and should be in the 60-80 ng/ml range. Vitamin D3 supplements on sale:
- We take Vitamin A and C supplements when a bug is stressing our system. This added immune support helps to ramp up our response to the offending bug and helps us get over it faster. Vitamin A and C supplements on sale:
- We always have an herbal immune support formula at hand. Our favorites on sale are:
We have put our immune superhero supplements on a 30% off sale with free shipping on every order over $25 from now until March 8, 2021 (inclusive) or until supplies last.
Email frontdesk@cnmhealth.com or call 650-323-7345 to place your order!*
*Items will be shipped upon receipt of payment. All sales are final. No returns.
Hand Cradle offer ending soon!
Image text: Purchase your Hand Cradle and receive $75 off your next virtual appointment. Offer ends February 25, 2021. To take advantage of this offer call Cypress Natural Medicine at (650) 323-7345 or email us at frontdesk@cnmhealth.com
Benefits to having your own hand cradle:
- Just as effective as an in-person visit
- Get scanned from anywhere with a good internet connection
- The safest, most convenient choice for appointments
- Simple to set up and use
- Easier last-minute appointments
Online streaming events: Gut-brain connection and Emotional Agility
Stress eating during quarantine? Or the general mayhem of this pandemic bringing you down? That’s really simplifying the global situation we all find ourselves in – health problems existed long before the pandemic. So maybe there are health issues you wanted to tackle before 2020 that got derailed. Here is a great place to kick-start that journey to health. We’ve got a couple of events that might be for you.
Check out these online events, led by renowned doctors, Dr. Mitra Ray and Dr. Cindy Sholes.
The Gut-Brain Connection Made Simple with Dr. Mitra Ray
February 4, 2021 at 7pm Pacific Time
Dr. Ray is a biochemist and author who helps people by educating them on how plant based whole foods can improve gut function and therefore brain function. What could be more beautiful than that? To learn more about Dr. Ray, visit her website here.
Hippocrates was not too far off the mark when he said “All disease begins in the gut.” While not all disease does, everything that goes through our digestive system does affect us. In this event, coming up soon (February 4, 2021!), Dr. Ray will focus on mental and emotional wellbeing through our microbiome and how to control the bugs in our gut.
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Building Emotional Agility: 3 Skills for Finding Choices in Life’s Challenges with Dr. Cindy Sholes
March 4, 2021 at 7pm Pacific Time
Dr. Sholes is a neuroscientist and medical hypnotherapist and has helped many people face mental and emotional blocks head on and carve out pathways to achieving long held goals. To learn more about Dr. Sholes, visit her website here.
What is emotional agility? It is approaching your inner experiences in a mindful, values-driven and productive way. In this event, Dr Sholes will discuss “personal glass-ceilings” that limit us from living our full lives. Each person’s limitations are different, but all can be broken through. Here you will identify those subconscious reaction patterns, learn the critical questions to build the skill of emotional agility and discover how to break mental and emotional habits you may not realize you have.
Both events are part of the Palo Alto Speakers Series and tickets for both events can be purchased here on Eventbrite.