January Meeting Announcement: Mindful Parenting

On Tuesday, January 5 the DC Chapter of the Holistic Moms Network will welcome Francine Ronis, LPC, Child/Family Therapist and Parenting Coach, who will speak on the topic of "Mindful Parenting".

Francine has been a therapist in the Northern Virginia area for seven years, and specializes in child and family therapy. She holds Masters Degrees in Counseling and Early Childhood Education, and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She is licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia's Board of Counseling.

When working with children, Francine uses a model that includes the family to facilitate behavioral and emotional changes and enrich the childhood and family experience. She specializes in working with individuals and families that want to enrich their relationships, experience more joy, connection, and intimacy; and heal old wounds that block their ability to live fully in the present.

Francine is a parent coach, helping biological and adoptive parents create the family environment where children and parents can thrive. She coaches parents on Mindful Parenting, Positive Discipline, Meditation, and Attachment Parenting.

Our “Mindful Parenting” meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 5, from 6:30 to 8:30 at the Cleveland Park Public Library, 3310 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008. There is street parking in Cleveland Park, and the library is also metro accessible through the Cleveland Park Metro/Red Line. Please note that our meetings will be held at this location from now on.

December Meeting Recap: Chapter Social and Potluck

This week, the DC Chapter of the Holistic Moms Network held a great social and potluck! Chapter members brought a delicious assortment of food, and shared information on everything from cloth diapering to baby wearing to birth and school options. There was a lot of time for getting to know each other, and we look forward to doing another potluck sometime in the New Year. Thank you to everyone who attended!

We hope everyone can join us for Mindful Parenting in January, Schooling Options for the Holistic Family in February, and a number of other interesting topics through the winter and spring! Please check our blog for updates and additional information on upcoming topics and meetings!

November Meeting Recap: Homeopathy 101 for the Family

This week, Holistic Moms DC welcomed Dr. Chris Johnson, of Thrive Naturopathic in Alexandria, VA, who spoke on "Homeopathy 101 for the Family". Dr. Johnson gave a terrific overview of the history of homeopathy as well as the fundamentals of how homeopathy works in the body to fight or prevent disease. Our members asked questions ranging from what is in the little white homeopathic pills to how we can boost our immune systems this winter season. Thank you Dr. Johnson!

We also want to thank Go Mambo! of Mambo Sprouts for their generous donation of organic snacks for our November meeting!

We're looking forward to seeing all of your at our December potluck and social next month!

November Meeting: Homeopathy 101 for the Family

On Monday, November 2, the DC Chapter of the Holistic Moms Network will welcome Christopher Johnson, ND, who will be speaking on "Homeopathy 101 for the Family".

Christopher Johnson, ND is the founder and owner of Thrive Naturopathic in Alexandria, VA. He is a graduate of Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine (SCNM), located in Tempe, Arizona. The program at SCNM is a 4 year, doctorate level education resulting in the degree Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine. Dr. Johnson is Vice President of the Virginia Association of Naturopathic Physicians (VAANP). He is certified as a Master of the Institute for Human Individulality (IfHI)

The story bringing Dr. Johnson to naturopathic medicine began with his experience of chronic illness, brought on in part by exposure to toxic chemicals while working in the paint industry. Unable to find help in conventional medicine, he explored the world of complementary and alternative medicine, regaining health through naturopathic medical treatments involving homeopathy, nutritional and botanical supplementation, and dietary and lifestyle changes.

Based on what he has learned in his own healing journey, in his interactions with others facing chronic illness, and during the course of his training, education, and study, Dr. Johnson favors two areas of therapeutics which he believes to be the most effective to address illness of all types: homeopathy and individualized nutrition.

The meeting will be on Monday, November 2, from 6:30 to 8:30 at National Integrated Health Associates (NIHA), 5225 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Suite 402, Washington DC 20015. NIHA is metro-accessible (Friendship Heights stop on the Red Line), but there is also street and garage parking, and NIHA will provide 2 hours of validated parking in their garage.

October Meeting Recap: Nourishing Healthy Kids

Thank you to Monica Corrado of Simply Being Well for speaking at our October meeting! Monica provided tons of useful advice on feeding infants to toddlers to teenagers, and everything in between. She answered numerous questions from moms, dads, and other caregivers who attended. Thank you Monica!

October Meeting: Nourishing Healthy Kids

On Monday, October 5 the DC Chapter of the Holistic Moms Network will welcome Monica Corrado, whole food chef and holistic nutrition educator, who will be speaking to us on the topic of "Nourishing Healthy Kids".

Monica is on the Honorary Board of the Weston A. Price Foundation, and is committed to nutrient-dense, sustainable and local food, farming and the healing arts. Monica enjoys teaching classes where people learn to cook for well-being. She has taught hundreds of people to cook nourishing, traditional foods for themselves and their families. Some of her clients are cancer survivors, menopausal women, new moms and dads, and others like you who are interested in using food to heal or to “simply be well”. Monica’s passion is to help individuals make the connection between real food and vibrant health.

The meeting will be on Monday, October 5, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at National Integrated Health Associates (NIHA), 5225 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite 402, Washington, DC 20015. NIHA is metro-accessible (Friendship Heights stop on the Red Line), but there is also street and garage parking. NIHA will provide 2 hours of validated parking in their garage.

Washington, DC Chapter Launches!

The Washington, DC chapter of the Holistic Moms Network had a successful chapter launch on Monday, September 14. We had a wonderful group of moms and moms-to-be, dads and dads-to-be, babies, children, and caregivers attend, and everyone was very excited about the DC chapter and our upcoming events. There were great snacks and lots of literature available for people who attended. After an overview of the Holistic Moms Network and the DC chapter, everyone had a chance to introduce themselves and why they were interested in the chapter. We realized what a diverse group of people we had, which made the evening great!

We want to extend a huge thank you to everyone who came and made the chapter launch a success! We hope to see you for our next meeting on Monday, October 5 at 6:30 pm, at NIHA. Monica Corrado will be speaking on "Nourishing Healthy Kids" and we are sure it will answer many nutritional questions DC-area parents have. And thank you to NIHA for hosting our group!

If you haven't already, don't forget to become a member of our chapter today! You can complete your membership at http://membership.holisticmoms.org. Once you are a member, you will be added to our local chapter email loop where we will talk about meeting topics, dates, times and locations as well as other chapter activities. The local loop is also a great place to ask for advice and share tips on holistic living. There are also many other benefits to membership, which are explained here. We hope to see you at a meeting soon!

Welcome to the New DC Chapter!

The DC chapter of the Holistic Moms Network is kicking-off with an open house on Monday, September 14, 2009 from 6:30-8:30 PM in the conference room of National Integrated Health Associates (NIHA), 5225 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Suite 402, Washington, DC 20015.

The open house is an opportunity to learn about the Holistic Moms Network, meet other families, and to find out how you can be involved in the DC chapter.

Contact holisticmomsdc@gmail.com for more information or to get involved. There are many ways to be involved and many opportunities for volunteers!

This blog will post information about upcoming events and activities our chapter undertakes. Also see our chapter website at http://home.homewebs.com/hmnwashingtondc/.