December Meeting Announcement: Handmade Holistic Holidays!

On Tuesday, December 7 the DC Chapter of the Holistic Moms Network will hold an evening of sharing ideas on handmade holidays. As we discussed at our last meeting, we will also continue the discussion on planning for next year. Please join us and bring your ideas of handmade holiday gifts! We hope to compile all ideas into a booklet of handmade holistic gifts, to be available to members. Hope to see you!

November Meeting: Anniversary Party & Planning Meeting

On Tuesday, November 2, we held our one-year anniversary party (a bit late as we started last September!) in conjunction with a planning meeting. Over cupcakes, we discussed topics for next year as well as other activities members of the chapter would like to become involved in. Thank you to everyone who attended! Members - please look for information from the meeting on our yahoo groups list!

October Meeting Recap: Wireless Safety

Thank you to Christine Hoch of Moms for Safe Wireless for presenting to us on "Wireless Product Safety" in October. Christine provided extensive information on existing research around wireless product safety, and offered suggestions on how we might reduce exposure to radiation from wireless products. Christine's powerpoint is available to members of our chapter on our Yahoo Groups page!

October Meeting Announcement: Wireless Safety

Do you wonder if it is safe for a child to use a cell phone, cordless phone, wireless game controller, or laptop? Do you have Wi-Fi in your home or office? These products could be impacting your health. On Tuesday, October 5, we will discuss these questions as we learn about radiofrequency radiation and what we can do to mitigate impacts from Christine Hoch, Founder and Executive Director of Moms for Safe Wireless, a local nonprofit organization.

Christine Hoch is the Founder and Executive Director of Moms for Safe Wireless, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Gainesville, VA and established in June 2009. Moms for Safe Wireless raises awareness of the reported health effects from wireless products. Christine worked for the National Safety Council’s Environmental Health Center for 9 years, where she raised awareness of environmental health issues such as lead poisoning, radon, pesticides, sun safety and high-level radioactive waste transport. She was Executive Director of the Autism Society of Northern Virginia and Co-Founder of the Walk for Autism – Virginia, both of which provide support to families affected by autism in Northern Virginia. Prior to forming Moms for Safe Wireless, Ms. Hoch was Vice President of Finance at the National Center for Family Philanthropy. She holds a B.A. in Economics and International Relations from American University.

Our “Wireless Product Safety” meeting with Christine Hoch will take place on Tuesday, October 5 from 6:30-8:30 pm 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/Red Line stop.

September Meeting Recap: Navigating Vaccination Decisions

Our September meeting on "Navigating Vaccination Decisions" with Barbara Loe Fisher was full of information and resources on this confusing subject. Barbara gave an overview of childhood vaccination requirements and discussed how parents might increase their understanding of potential adverse effects of vaccinations as well as potential effects of contracting diseases. Members and visitors asked a number of thoughtful questions, and Barbara provided thoughtful responses. Thank you Barbara for providing our group with a huge amount of valuable information!

September Meeting Announcement: Navigating Vaccination Decisions

On Tuesday, September 7, the DC Chapter of the Holistic Moms Network will welcome Barbara Loe Fisher, Co-Founder and President of the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), who will speak on the topic of “Navigating Vaccination Decisions”.

The NVIC is a national, non-profit educational organization founded in 1982. The oldest and largest consumer organization advocating the institution of vaccine safety and informed consent protections in the mass vaccination system, NVIC is responsible for launching the vaccine safety and informed consent movement in America in the early 1980's. The NVIC is dedicated to the prevention of vaccine injuries and deaths through public education and to defending the informed consent ethic. As an independent clearinghouse for information on diseases and vaccines, NVIC does not promote the use of vaccines and does not advise against the use of vaccines. NVIC supports the availability of all preventive health care options, including vaccination, and the right of consumers to make educated, voluntary health care choices.

Barbara Loe Fisher is co-founder and president of the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC). She is the co-author of DPT: A Shot in the Dark (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich 1985; Warner 1986; Avery 1991); author of The Consumer's Guide to Childhood Vaccines (NVIC 1997) and Vaccines, Autism & Chronic Inflammation: The New Epidemic (2008). During the early 1980's, she helped launch a grassroots movement to bring the issue of vaccine safety to public attention. She served on the National Vaccine Advisory Committee (1988-1991); the Institute of Medicine Vaccine Safety Forum (1995-1998) where she has helped to coordinate five public workshops on vaccine safety issues; the FDA Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (1999-2003); the Vaccine Policy Analysis Collaborative (2002-2005) and is a member of the Consumer’s United for Evidence-Based Healthcare, Cochrane Collaboration – U.S. She has represented health care consumers at many scientific conferences, government meetings and legislative hearings and is a featured speaker at health care conferences in the U.S., Canada and Europe. As NVIC's public spokesperson, she has contributed to numerous newspaper and magazine articles about vaccine safety and appears on national radio and television programs discussing vaccines and diseases and advocating informed consent to vaccination.

Our “Navigating Vaccination Decisions” meeting with Barbara Loe Fisher will take place on Tuesday, September 7 from 6:30-8:30 pm 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/Red Line stop.

August Meeting Recap: Ice Cream Social

We had a terrific social in August, with many, many varieties of ice cream to try. The ice cream made from coconut milk seemed to be the favorite. We also had a terrific discussion on holistic first aid, and shared tips and ideas with each other.

Thank you to all the members and attendees who brought such tasty treats!

August Meeting Announcement: Ice Cream Social & Holistic First Aid Discussion

On Tuesday, August 3, the DC Chapter of the Holistic Moms Network is holding an ice cream social! Please bring a pint of your favorite type of ice cream, especially non-dairy varieties. There are many varieties of ice cream available now – made from rice, almonds, soy, coconut, hemp and others – and we’ll try to sample as many as we can while discussing holistic first aid. Please also bring a bowl and spoon for sampling! This is a great way to beat the heat, socialize together, and talk about many household items that can be used for first aid purposes. We hope to see you there!

Our social will take place on Tuesday, August 3 from 6:30-8:30 pm 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/Red Line stop.

July Meeting Recap: Mindful Eating

In July, Monica Silvestro spoke to us about Mindful Eating, which we learned incorporates many things, especially connecting with the food you eat. Monica spoke about the importance of eating without distractions such as books, magazines, and TV, and of chewing our food slowly and many times before swallowing. After she spoke, we all practiced eating one grape and one cookie mindfully, and then discussed the experience. Many of us noted that we were satisfied with only one cookie! Thank you Monica for a great evening!

July Meeting Announcement: Mindful Eating

On Tuesday, July 20, we will welcome Monica Silvestro, Certified Holistic Health Counselor, who will speak on "Mindful Eating".

Mindful eating addresses the following eating habits many of us develop after having children:
-Eating our meals quickly and barely tasting the food because we need to
attend to our children or get things done around the house or the office.
-Snacking or eating meals on the go because we're trying to fit everything into our family's busy lives.
-Eating when we're not hungry, or eating more than we really need in a meal.

Through a step-by-step interactive process, Monica will teach us how to eat more mindfully and reconnect with our food.

Our Mindful Eating meeting will take place on Tuesday, July 20 from 6:30-8:30 pm 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/Red Line stop.

**Please note that our July meeting is not on our usual first Tuesday, due to a scheduling conflict; we will be back to meeting on the first Tuesday of each month in August.**

June Meeting Recap: Ayurveda for the Family

On June 1, Anne Thiel, Certified Ayurvedic Lifestyle Consultant, spoke to our chapter about incorporating Ayurvedic health and lifestyle principles into our lives to improve the health of our families. She discussed the characteristics of the three doshas that comprise Ayurveda, and taught us how we can determine which doshas are dominant in ourselves and our children. From there, she discussed certain foods and activities that are better for certain doshas, all of which help us to bring our bodies into balance. Thank you Anne for a wonderful presentation and for getting us started down a path to understanding Ayurveda!

Anne provided us with terrific handouts, which will be available to members on our Yahoo Groups list.

We hope to see you next month for "Mindful Eating"!

June Meeting Announcement: Ayurveda for the Family

On Tuesday, June 1, we will welcome Anne Thiel, Ayurvedic Lifestyle Consultant, who will speak on "Ayurveda for the Family". Ayurveda is a traditional system of medicine that originated in South Asia. The system considers both spirit and matter, and focuses on five elements (earth, water, fire, air, and ether) and three doshas: vata - air and space; pitta - fire and water; and kapha - water and earth. Anne will discuss the elements and doshas of Ayurveda, and then explain how we can apply Ayurvedic practices for family health and wellness.

Anne Thiel is an Ayurvedic lifestyle consultant. She was first formally introduced to Ayurveda in an Ayurveda/Thai Yoga training in 2005 and completed Kripalu’s School of Ayurveda program in 2007. Anne is passionate about the wisdom of this ancient Indian healing science and seeks to help clients identify lifestyle changes that allow them to find more balance and harmony in their lives. Anne has been offering workshops in the DC area for the past few years and also works with clients on an one-to-one basis.

May Meeting Recap: Cleaning & Greening at Home

Thank you to Cindy Olson of Eco-Coach for an extremely informative presentation on Green Cleaning last week! Cindy discussed a number of common conventional cleaning products, and provided safer, less toxic alternatives for each. Cindy also discussed ways to improve indoor air quality, and non-toxic pest control. Members and visitors asked a number of questions, all of which Cindy answered with loads of information. Cindy also brought a number of product examples, and pointed us all in a safer, greener direction.

Cindy provided our chapter with many informative materials, which will be available on our information table at the next meeting in June.

Thank you again, Cindy!

May Meeting Announcement: Cleaning & Greening at Home

On Tuesday, May 4, Cindy Olson, V.P. of Eco-Coach, Inc. will speak to us about Cleaning & Greening at Home: Creating a Non-Toxic Environment for Your Family. Cindy will talk about how our daily activities impact our health and the environment (and our wallets!), how we can clean our homes in a non-toxic way, and how we can identify key contributors to indoor air pollution. Cindy will provide information and resources to help us create less polluted and toxic indoor environments for our families!

Cindy Olson is the V.P. of Eco-Coach and, among other responsibilities, she educates clients and assists them in directing, implementing, and documenting the best sustainable practices for the new economy at the business and residential level. From designing eco-communities & creating community gardens to financial planning on Wall Street, Cindy has a kaleidoscopic wealth of experience that connects with her breadth of knowledge and interests. Cindy has created and facilitates the eco-voyager and eco-auditor curriculum. Cindy also has helped to create the on-line Green Jobs Workbook, to be released in early 2010. Cindy believes that if each of us takes one small step to make our community greener, we create big changes for our planet. As the organizer of Extreme Green Neighborhood Makeover for a Carbon Free DC, she is helping many households lower their impact.

Our "Cleaning & Greening at Home" meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 4 from 6:30-8:30 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/Red Line stop.

April Meeting Recap: Organic Gardening

On Tuesday, April 6, Mitch Baker from American Plant spoke to us about organic gardening in the DC area. Mitch began by discussing the origins of chemical products in our garden, noting that before 1947 all gardening was basically organic. He shared information with us on the best and most productive soil to use for container gardening, and how to amend soil in the ground to best support healthy, productive plants. Mitch also discussed composting, organic fertilizers and pest control, and gave specific recommendations for growing plants such as tomatoes in the DC area. Thank you Mitch for a very informative and helpful talk as we move into the planting season!

Notes from the meeting will be available to members who were not able to join us!

April Meeting Announcement: Organic Gardening

On Tuesday, April 6, we welcome Spring with a meeting on organic gardening! Our speaker is Mitch Baker from American Plant, an independent family-owned garden center with locations in Bethesda and Great Falls. American Plant has a commitment to promote EarthWise gardening, which means adopting good gardening practices so that plants can flourish naturally without relying on chemical pesticides.

Mitch will speak about organic gardening as it pertains to suburban ornamental and vegetable gardening. He will cover organic soil amendments, fertilizers, pest control, composting, container gardening and vegetable gardening, and will welcome questions as he speaks. Mitch will also bring a few products to show as alternatives to the typical chemical mainstream offerings.

Mitch Baker is a Horticultural Specialist with American Plant. A Maryland Certified Professional Horticulturist with 34 years in the garden center industry, Mitch is also a Board Member of the Rachel Carson Council.

Our “Organic Gardening” meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 6, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. 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.

March Meeting Recap: Dr. Anthony Noya

On Tuesday, March 2, Dr. Anthony Noya spoke to us on the topic of "Life Without Fear: A Wellness Approach to Healthcare". It was a really informative session about a wellness approach to health and your life. Dr. Noya discussed vital life force and ways to express your life force and keep it flowing so that you can live your healthiest life. Some ways to live healthy are yoga, chiropractic care, exercising and breathing practices. There were a lot of questions about how chiropractic services fit into a family wellness model and about how children react to being "adjusted". Thanks Dr. Noya!

March Meeting Announcement: Life Without Fear, A Wellness Approach to Healthcare

On Tuesday, March 2, we will welcome Dr. Anthony Noya, of Noya Chiropractic in DC, who will speak on the topic of "Life Without Fear: A Wellness Approach to Healthcare".

Dr. Noya will give a discussion on shifting one’s paradigm from sickness and disease care to wellness care. He will focus on the body's innate healing abilities and demonstrate how chiropractic and other modalities can play a role in creating, maintaining and supporting health and wellness for you and your family.

Anthony Noya was born and raised on Long Island, NY. He attended Stony Brook University in New York and earned a B.S. in Biology. In 2001 he obtained the Doctor of Chiropractic Degree from Life Chiropractic University in Atlanta, Georgia.

Dr. Noya specializes in family wellness care. He has received advanced training in pediatrics and pregnancy care, Bio-Geometric Integration (BGI), Torque Release Technique (TRT), and Posture Rehabilitation. He has participated in multiple chiropractic mission trips to Brazil. Dr. Noya cares for children and families, working to promote health and wellness.

In his free time, Dr. Noya enjoys yoga, rock climbing, reading, running, movies and soccer. He lives with his wife, Abbie, and their two children in Bethesda, MD.

February Meeting Recap: Schooling Options for the Holistic Family

On February 2, we welcomed a terrific panel of representatives from different schools/schooling philosophies to speak to our group about schooling options in the DC area. Our panelists included Cara Elkins, Program Director/Teacher at the Amazing Life Games Cooperative Preschool; Lezlie Lawson, Enrollment Director at the Washington Waldorf School; Celeste Land, Director of Government Affairs for the The Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers; Ariana Quinones-Miranda, Director of Education and Outreach for Friends of Choice in Urban Schools (FOCUS); Emma LePore, Office of the Chancellor for DC Public Schools; and Andrew Kutt, Founder and Executive Director of the Bethesda Oneness-Family School.

In addition to speaking about the overall educational approach of their particular school/schools, the panelists also covered such topics as nutrition in school, recycling, gardening, and the integration of nature, health, and wellness to their school's curriculum. Panelists also spoke on how they are working towards a non-toxic environment, and how their educational approach relates to mindful/conscious parenting, positive discipline, and nonviolent communication. We also appreciated the many parenting insights each panelist provided, whether it be to make quiet time to share with our children, or to leave our children alone for periods of time to encourage creative and imaginative play.

Thank you to all of our panelists, and to the Cleveland Park Library for providing us with a great meeting room!

February Meeting Announcement: Schooling Options for the Holistic Family

On Tuesday, February 2, the DC Chapter of the Holistic Moms Network will welcome a panel of DC-area school representatives for a evening focused on "Schooling Options for the Holistic Family". Panelists will discuss public and public charter schools in DC, homeschooling, and Waldorf, Montessori, and Reggio-Emilia education.

Our “Schooling Options for the Holistic Family” meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 2, 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.

January Meeting Recap: Mindful Parenting

This past week, the DC Chapter of the Holistic Moms Network welcomed Francine Ronis, a child and family therapist in the DC area, to speak on the topic of Mindful Parenting. Francine spoke about the many ways we speak to our children, how we can better acknowledge their feelings, show empathy with them, and engage their cooperation. She also discussed alternatives to punishment, encouraging autonomy, and how to best praise our children. Members asked many questions throughout the talk, and shared personal experiences. Thank you Francine for a wonderfully informative evening!

And thank you to the Cleveland Park Public Library for our new meeting space!

Please join us for our February meeting, which will be on "Schooling Options for the Holistic Family". Additional information on this meeting will be posted to our blog soon!