Real Talk & A Bulletproof Coffee Recipe

Happy Saturday eve, babes. I’m throwing it back to basicallyyyy every Saturday evening of 2013, 2014, and 2015… and bringing you a straight up Saturday night heart-pour post. And a Bulletproof coffee recipe because it’s the top requested thing from me ever, ever. It’s the last night of September and I am feeling nostalgic, in tune, full of clarity, and inspired.

One reason for all of the feelings is… I am bursting with adrenaline for something I’m LAUNCHING tomorrow and am reallllyyyyy over the moon about. The idea came to me in a vision post-kundalini not too long ago, and I feel the new venture really captures where I am, the direction I am moving, and all that I want to begin sharing more of with you guys.

I can also tell from hearing from a lot of YOU that this is something a lot of you are getting into too, so it’s something we can all explore together… #spirituality, but deeper. Very, very excited to get my new baby, SPIRIT JUICE, out into the world and see what the future holds.

REAL TALK //

On that note, and not in a bad way but just in a real way — my career future has almost never felt more undefined. I feel like I could go in ten trillion and one different directions, and for my personality type that is always kind of paralyzing.

When I am in the flow, listening to my intuition and just making moves as they come, things are EASY peasy. But when I am faced with decision after decision about what to focus on, which path to go down, who to potentially hire, who to potentially work with, what to say yes and no to, when I really just want to do it ALL and expand in EVERY direction yet also keep all of the control and choices to me, myself and I… it can be tough (and paralyzing) to say the least.

I wish you could see the amount of things I’ve said “yes!!!” to, ranging from huge career-altering projects to small little plans throughout the week, and then had to go back and say, “actually, I’m so sorry, I just can’t right now. I completely overshot my time / energy.”

So right now I am trying so hard to keep space and time open for myself to create and be spontaneous and be in the flow, which is 100% how I work best. Instead of getting all tripped up on everything that’s on the horizon for me, as thrilled as I am about it all.

I feel it’s important to be clear and honest with you guys about that. I know I am always sharing how much I love what I do, and I truly do. Blogging is my perfect-fit career. It changes every day, I get to connect with amazing humans, I spend the majority of my day diving deep into wellness and fitness and yoga, I get to write and create from the heart which challenges and inspires me daily, and no two days are ever the same.

But that daily fluidity has its challenges too, and right now I know that remaining focused on honing in, trying to only say yes to the big and perfectly aligned opportunities, and continuing to clear and create space for what I know is to come.

And by “what I know” I really mean… what I BELIEVE. It’s more like what I see, feel, and vibe with when I am STILL and in the flow. I know what is to come in the sense of how it feels, some general direction of what I will be doing, etc. but then again it’s all a bit hazy on the specifics. I could still go in a bunch of different directions, especially with my newfound loves of kundalini, reiki, shamanism, crystal healing, intuitive abilities, automatic writing, astrology and the moon cycles and wanting to do ALL OF THAT full time basically… just to name a few.

Beyond the spiritual path I am continuing down, a deep part of me knows and believes that there are tons of stories wanting to come out of me, in the form of writing not just non-fiction but also fiction. There are a few books and even movies I have in my mind that are itching to come out — and those also require stillness, time to myself, and growing more and more comfortable standing in my power of saying “NO.”

The hardest part right now is that I continue to struggle with the sheer amount of responsibility I feel to communicate with and get back to everyone who reaches out, vacillating between knowing I need to retreat to a deep place of solitude very soon or else I may snap (I am feeling another Panchakarma, or a long phone free vacation with my love), with also wanting to people please and see everyone / do everything I can.

I have a deep knowing of how people feel on the inside even when they express something else on the outside, and I have a lot of trouble saying “no, I can’t hang out” or do this / that / the other while knowing it might hurt or inconvenience them and then I will see that written all over their face or feel the vibe even through email.

But in my heart I know I have to in order to keep protecting my energy field and finding the space and energy to bring the ideas to life that are inside of me.

So that’s what I am dealing with as of late! They are good problems to have, and there is zero bit of complaint coming from me about it. Just realness so you guys know what’s up!

I am so deeply and immensely grateful for everything that is coming up for me right now. My life is expanding, my worldview is expanding, and because of that… my brand is expanding with all the new spiritual momentum I’m picking up. That means that I have to be even more diligent with how I spend my time and how I spend my energy.

I hope this makes sense to you guys and as I sat down to write this post tonight it just flowed out of me, so… here it is!

On another note… Bulletproof Coffee! //

On a whole separate note, you guys have been asking me like wildfire for my bulletproof coffee recipe. I have shared it on the bloggy a few times but I am always adapting it and adding in some changes, so here are my current bulletproof deets:

8-12 oz Chameleon cold brew — any coffee works, cold or hot, but I like to make sure its organic and low-acid (for my tummy) and tastes good. You can choose whether you want yours heated or iced!
1 tablespoon Fourth & Heart ghee
2 tablespoons MCT Oil (start with 1/2 tablespoon and work your way up if you’ve never tried MCT or Brain Octane before!)
2 scoops Vital Proteins Dark Chocolate & Blackberry Collagen Peptides – this brand is my favorite by far as you guys well know, and there is 20g of collagen in every serving. Collagen has helped improve my hair, skin and nails and overall gives my hormones the loving they need with the dose of Bulletproof energy! They have no sugar added (just from the natural fruits, and very low glycemic) and are sourced from grass-fed, pasture-raised bovine, organic cocoa, and organic blackberries to ensure a natural, high quality, and nutrient-rich elixir.
Sometimes I add STEVIA or MONKFRUIT because duh I am a sweets fiend and I love a good, sweet morning coffee.

Benefits of the Bulletproof lifestyle = increased mental clarity, kickstarts your body into burning fat instead of burning glucose, gives you a good healthy dose of fats (BRAIN stamina!) to start your day, boosts energy, has no sugar, wards off cravings for sugar and not-good-for-you foods, and also it tastes delicious. I am a fan for so many reasons!

Adding collagen is a win-win because for women, so many of us suffer from unstable hormones (myself majorly included) so having that protein in the mix helps our blood sugar from crashing and burning and also gives us that nourishment we need.

Of course, everyone is different so find your groove with it. Bulletproof is most definitely not for everyone and shouldn’t be used as a tricky way to eat less during the day… but rather, to kickstart your day with a healthy habit! AND personally I am never hungry in the mornings so this is the best and my fave breakfast option.

Yes, there are a few different moving parts to this post and I had so much fun writing it for that reason. If that gives you any indication of how my brain works… #creativebrainprobs.

Let me know what you think below of my current sitch, the BP recipe and anything else! Love you guy and if you’re reading this on Saturday night… we are kindred spirits. <3

A model decided to tattoo her eyeball. She's now partially blind and in 'excruciating' pain.

Purple was Catt Gallinger’s favorite color. Pictures of the Canadian model often showed her sporting purple hair or purple lipstick, or the purple tinge of her numerous tattoos peeking out from beneath a tank top. So when the already heavily inked Ottawa resident had the opportunity to “tattoo” her eyeball — a procedure called sclera staining, […]

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Mother who refuses to follow court order to vaccinate son: ‘Most likely, I’ll be going to jail’

A Michigan woman said she will “most likely” go to jail this week if she refuses a court order to vaccinate her 9-year-old son. And Rebecca Bredow, it seems, is willing to take that risk. “I can’t give in against my own religious belief,” she told The Washington Post on Saturday. “This is about choice. […]

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Loving Lately, RECIPE STYLE ft. Bowl Bosses // 9.29.17

Helloooo and happy Friday, my babes! It’s time for another Loving Lately because let’s face it, they’re my fave. I’ve decided that because usually my Loving Lately lists are long and full of info, I am going to do them occasionally now focused on ONE thing and really dive deep into it.

I am still going to do the lists, but I will be switching them up by talkin’ about one thing at a time occasionally!

But before we dive in… today is NATIONAL COFFEE DAY and real talk… have you tried Bulletproof‘s new ready to drink COLD BREW?!

They sent me a package of all four flavors and to be honest, I died and went to heaven. I have been such a BP fan since day one. It has transformed my life, my mornings, my body, and made me so much more alert during the day in general.

I was originally inspired by my homegirl and original neighbor BFF nutritionist, Kelly Leveque to hop on the Bulletproof train, and since then it’s become a huge part of my lifestyle.

So yes, check out their new cold brews and feel damn good burning fat vs. glucose!

And if you’re into that kind of thing, check out my second-to-latest Soul on Fire episode with Mark Sisson!

So now let me tell you what I’m realllllly loving lately, RECIPE style!

Loving Lately // BOWL BOSS LIFE

ft. Dr. Praeger’s Gluten-Free, Soy-Free & Non-GMO Products

P.S. go enter their BOWL BOSS campaign giveaway, by heading to their landing page and simply entering your info. So exciting! $1,500 worth of prizes!

So as you know… I have been very into the bowl life for a while now. It’s the perfect way to get a meal packed full of nutrients into my life without compromising my dietary preferences, because you can pretty much load anything and everything into a bowl and when the ingredients are whole, real and from the earth… it will always taste good.

Lately I have been VERY into all things cauliflower rice. Cauli is packed with fiber and nutrients, and is the perfect substitute for someone like me who has to be grain-free for candida and tummy reasons. I also just feel WAY better when I am grain-free (who else is with me on that?!) and have been really enjoying swapping out my previous bowl-ingredients of quinoa, rice, etc. for cauli rice and more legumes and greens.

With my grain-free lifestyle, I have also gotten really into trying new products that fit into my dietary preferences as well. I was SO THRILLED when Dr. Praeger‘s asked me to be a part of their #BowlBoss campaign, because not only do I love bowls, but… I also love a good, healthy, sustainable product that tastes delicious.

Their business started 20+ years ago when two heart surgeons decided to get into the food business to provide nutritious, delicious, and convenient frozen foods as options for people on the go who were not necessarily making healthy choices to begin with. You know I am all about working with people who are kind and inspiring from the inside out, and they are absolutely that.

Since then, the brand has evolved into a full-fledged food business that is still independent and family-owned. On their site they have options for gluten-free, non-GMO, soy-free, vegan, kid friendly, what’s new, and more. Of course, beyond the kid-friendly… I fall into most of those categories. I am not vegan by label, but I do choose to eat plant-based a good portion of the time lately, especially with my candida issues.

In this bowl I used Dr. Praeger’s kale veggie burger, which is to DIE for. It’s packed full of kale + 9 other veggies and it’s so juicy and delicious. Completely non-GMO, gluten-free, soy-free and vegan. It does have a bit of quinoa and rice in it, but I am not 100% strict with grain-free… just whenever I can be! I balanced it out with the cauli rice this time around.

The rest of the ingredients were…

1 cup cauliflower rice, sautéed in ghee and turmeric spices

1/2 cup sliced kabocha squash, roasted at 450 degrees Fahrenheit & dusted with paprika and olive oil

1/2 cup spinach + a handful of cashews, sautéed in ghee and turmeric spices

+ topped with the kale veggie burger!

Such a powerhouse meal, full of healthy fats, veggies, greens and good, hearty carbs.

I ate this while Dany and I were cleaning my house yesterday and… let me tell you, I was full of energy and bouncing off the walls.

Looking for more bowl inspo?! Check out Dr. Praeger’s BOWL BOSS PAGE and check out their Instagram for a new bowl recipe every day in September (you can work backward, since it’s the end of the month) + the chance to win a $1,500 prize pack with everything you need to be a #BOWLBOSS.

Enter their giveaway, I love what they are offering!

And if you’re looking for some additional TBB-approved Dr. Praeger’s products, I also love the kale puffs, root veggie hash browns, and gluten-free california veggie burger (to name a few).

Check them outttt & happy Friday my loves! xx

You all DA BEST!!

Tell me your weekend plans!?!? xoxo

FDA, industry step up efforts to avert drug shortages after Puerto Rico hurricane

Federal and industry officials are stepping up efforts to avert potentially serious drug shortages in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria's assault on Puerto Rico, a major center for pharmaceutical manufacturing. Scott Gottlieb, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, headed to the island Friday morning with staff from the Department of Homeland Security. Gottlieb was scheduled […]

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An evil administrator (CEO Clint Kuntz of MHC Healthcare in Tucson, AZ)

Watch and listen to Zubin Damania, MD (aka Zdogg MD) interview CEO Clint Kuntz of MCH Healthcare, Clint is the one without the suit.

An evil administrator (CEO Clint Kuntz of MHC Healthcare in Tucson, AZ) gives me a tour of his community health clinic…and we see the signs of Health 3.0 errrrywhere.

Primary care and pharmacy and dental and behavioral health and peds and docs and nurse practitioners and radiology techs and MAs and lab peeps all working together for the benefit of patients and each other. It’s time we highlighted the bright spots in medicine, and this is definitely one of them.

Health 3.0 in Marana, Arizona?

Tom Price declines comment on private jet travel, gets his flu shot

This flu season could be a bad one, and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price got his flu shot Thursday and urged Americans to follow his example and get vaccinated. But after getting jabbed, Price, who is under fire for his flights on government-funded private jets, left before a scheduled question-and-answer session at the […]

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He thought he had a lung tumor. It was a tiny toy traffic cone he inhaled 40 years ago.

For more than a year, he had felt ill, inexplicably coughing up phlegm. The British postal worker, a former smoker, had already been treated for pneumonia, but now doctors suspected it might be much worse — an e-ray had revealed a mysterious mass in one of his lungs, and it was suspected to be a possible tumor. During a diagnostic procedure, doctors in the United Kingdom, […]

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A woman survived a fall into Hurricane Harvey’s floodwaters — only to die of a flesh-eating infection

A Texas woman died earlier this month after contracting a flesh-eating infection from floodwaters brought by Hurricane Harvey, according to health officials in Houston. The Houston Chronicle reported that Nancy Reed, 77, of Houston, contracted a dangerous bacterial skin infection after she fell into dirty floodwater in her son’s home, breaking and cutting open her arm. The […]

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Scrap Graham-Cassidy health bill or plunge America and GOP into misery

CONGRESS is not abiding by the rules of legislating new law.

After sequential failures of developing a workable and stable health reform law, perhaps the problem is not health reform, rather a systemic failure in the legislative process, or congress' flagrant disregard for a long standing set of rules. The process is clearly dictated,

How our laws are made.

Perhaps the most important phase of the legislative process is the action by committees. The committees provide the most intensive consideration to a proposed measure as well as the forum where the public is given their opportunity to be heard. A tremendous volume of work, often overlooked by the public, is done by the Members in this phase. There are, at present, 20 standing committees in the House and 16 in the Senate as well as several select committees. In addition, there are four standing joint committees of the two Houses, with oversight responsibilities but no legislative jurisdiction. The House may also create select committees or task forces to study specific issues and report on them to the House. A task force may be established formally through a resolution passed by the House or informally through organization of interested Members by the House leadership.

In the Senate, introduced measures and House-passed measures are referred to the one committee of preponderant jurisdiction by the Parliamentarian on behalf of the Presiding Officer. By special or standing order, a measure may be referred to more than one committee in the Senate

One of the first actions taken by a committee is to seek the input of the relevant departments and agencies about a bill. Frequently, the bill is also submitted to the Government Accountability Office with a request for an official report of views on the necessity or desirability of enacting the bill into law. Normally, ample time is given for the submission of the reports and they are accorded serious consideration. However, these reports are not binding on the committee in determining whether or not to act favorably on the bill. Reports of the departments and agencies in the executive branch are submitted first to the Office of Management and Budget to determine whether they are consistent with the program of the President. Many committees adopt rules requiring referral of measures to the appropriate subcommittee unless the full committee votes to retain the measure at the full committee.

Public hearings are a major step in the process.

The current impasse is indicative of this disregard for the law making process.

LATE BREAKING NEWS:

No vote for Graham-Cassidy ACA repeal bill

Estimates from non-government agencies agreed that about 30 million people would probably lose coverage under Graham-Cassidy. The Congressional Budget Office released a preliminary report on Graham-Cassidy on Monday, finding it would result in millions losing coverage, particularly after 2020. The agency said a regular analysis would require several more weeks.

The healthcare industry was fiercely opposed to the proposal, including groups representing doctors, hospitals, payers and patients. All 50 state Medicaid directors also signed on to a letter slamming the bill, as did 36 current and former state insurance commissioners.

A few healthcare executives also took the unusual step of speaking out specifically against the plan. Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove said in a statement the bill would “threaten the financial viability of hospitals nationwide.” Kaiser Permanente CEO Bernard Tyson said Graham-Cassidy’s block funding would “erode coverage of needed medical services and pose major issues for state budgets.”

A variety of polls showed the public was not generally fond of the proposal either. At a Senate hearing Monday afternoon, hundreds of people protesting the bill stood in the hearing room and surrounding hallways chanting: “No cuts to Medicaid. Save our liberty.”

PERHAPS CONGRESS IS BEGINNING TO LISTEN TO THE RIGHT PEOPLE

Scrap Graham-Cassidy health bill or plunge America and GOP into misery

My Dario

If you use a smartphone, you can leave your glucometer at home. The DARIO glucometer is a plugin blood glucose monitor which is used in the same manner as a conventional glucometer. Unfortunately it requires that"ouch" finger prick.

When combined with the app it will read out your blood glucose. The DARIO is FDA approved . Users seem to find it a refreshing change to the daily monotony of finger sticks. Since most of us carry a smartphone,you can ditch the glucometer..

To add an additional safety level, the Dario system is built with an emergency hypo alert feature. Once enabled on your smartphone, Dario will send a text message to up to four people with your blood glucose level plus a link to where you are using your smartphone’s GPS coordinates. Hypoglycemia can result in loss of conciousness leaving a person disabled, and in a coma.

The DARIO software also provides a calorie counting tool. It comes with it's own ecosystem of accessories and the option to subscribe for disposable lancets and strips.

My Dario

Big Pharma shake up reveals how R&D is changing for mid level pipeline drug advances

Why are pharmaceuticals so expensive. New drugs go through a treacherous path to the market place, not just in terms of biochemical science, but also in deep pocket financing. Prior to their release on the market with approval by the FDA, enormous sums of capital must be available to do the science of development.

It is enough of a task that places pharmaceutical companies at financial risk. These two articles are a slice of financial vehicles which permit research to proceed.

Lilly puts two-thirds of midphase cancer pipeline up for sale in major shake-up of R&D

Eli Lilly is seeking partners for two-thirds of its midphase oncology compounds. The Big Pharma wants to offload six phase 2 candidates to focus its R&D dollars on a clutch of early to midstage assets it thinks can become the new standard of care.

Lilly is prioritizing the development of seven candidates, although one—breast cancer drug abemaciclib—is already in front of the FDA. Two of the remaining six are in phase 2, while the rest are yet to get out of phase 1. The list includes a PD-L1 antibody and PI3K/mTOR dual inhibitor Lilly is developing for use in combinations. And the small-molecule Chk-1 inhibitor it picked up from Array BioPharma.

Lilly faced increasing demands for financing of several phase I, II, and III drugs forcing to seek additional funds or partners. The decision to cull half of the cancer pipeline coincided with a setback for Lilly’s baricitinib. The Incyte-partnered rheumatoid arthritis drug was due to come to market this year. But a demand by FDA for another study to allay its concerns about the incidence of blood clots looks set to push back the timeline by 18 months or more. That bodes badly for Lilly.

Lilly lists 10 assets in its partnered pipeline, the same number as are in its top and second-tier priority pipelines. Three of the phase 1 partnered assets are already owned by third parties. But the remaining seven—including six in phase 2—are yet to be the subject of outlicensing deals.

The seven drugs seeking new homes are:

Galunisertib, a small molecule inhibitor of TGF beta R1 kinase
Ralimetinib, a p38 MAP kinase inhibitor
Emibetuzumab, a MET antibody
A notch Inhibitor
A FGFR inhibitor
A CXCR4 peptide antagonist
A FGFR-3 antibody-drug conjugate

The pace at which new classes of drugs often exceeds and causes pharmaceutical companies to shift and change priorities in mid-cycle of drug development.

The same can be said for medical device companies

LivaNova puts for sale sign on $250M cardiac rhythm unit

LivaNova PLC is a global medical technology company built on nearly five decades of experience and a relentless commitment to improve the lives of patients around the world. LivaNova’s advanced technologies and breakthrough treatments provide meaningful solutions for the benefit of patients, healthcare professionals and healthcare systems. Headquartered in London and with a presence in more than 100 countries worldwide, the company employs more than 4,500 employees. LivaNova operates as three business franchises: Cardiac Surgery, Neuromodulation and Cardiac Rhythm Management, with operating headquarters in Mirandola (Italy), Houston (U.S.A.) and Clamart (France), respectively

LivaNova is exploring strategic options for its cardiac rhythm management (CRM) business. The medtech company decided to look to offload the $250 million-a-year pacemaker and defibrillator unit after concluding it no longer fits with its strategy.

CRM is one of three units at LivaNova, the others being cardiac surgery and neuromodulation, and last year accounted for about one-fifth of its sales. Products including high-voltage defibrillators, cardiac resynchronization therapy devices and low-voltage pacemakers generated those sales. But while CRM is competitive in some niches, notably in Europe and Japan, LivaNova thinks its best option is to part ways with the business.

LivaNova itself is the product of a merger between Sorin and Cyberonics in 2015/

The decisions are multi-factorial:

“The CRM business franchise is a global business and strong regional player with attractive assets, a robust pipeline and growth potential,” LivaNova CEO Damien McDonald said in a statement. “However, it is no longer a strategic fit within LivaNova’s portfolio.” “The single biggest decision and discussion point for us around capital allocation is how we create shareholder value with the CRM portfolio. It's top of mind for the leadership team, and we're continuing to work on that,” CRM sales fell 6% over the first six months of 2017. LivaNova attributed the decline to a dropoff in sales of implantable cardiac defibrillators as compared to a period in which it introduced a new product, as well as unfavorable foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations.

FDA halts monkey research denounced by Jane Goodall as 'shameful'

The Food and Drug Administration has suspended experiments on the effects of nicotine in squirrel monkeys, research aimed at better understanding one of the most pernicious of addictions. Two weeks ago, famed British primatologist Jane Goodall wrote to FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, urging an end to what she called “cruel and unnecessary” and “shameful” research. On […]

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FDA targets hundreds of 'rogue' websites illegally selling opioids and other prescription drugs

The Food and Drug Administration targeted more than 500 websites it said were illegally selling unapproved versions of prescription medications, including opioids, antibiotics and injectable epinephrine products, the agency said Monday. The action was part of a global operation called Pangea X, led by the international police organization Interpol. That group said the international enforcement effort, […]

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Telehealth offers significant gains in accessibility for patients who live in . remote areas without access to primary care and/or sspecialty care. Despite these advantages regulations differ in each state. Health care reform in the ACA and future iteratioins has given insurance coverage to millions of more Americans. Coverage however does not guarrantee access to a physician.

Some adaptations already include the addition of nurse practitioners who are licensed to work independently. Their training is now standardized and many practice in a physician supervised clnic. However some work in rural and remote locations, requiring communication with a physician. Telemedicine offers the ability to share images, diagnostic images from otoscopes, ophthalmoscopes, and dermatology images, even with magnification. An ongoing interactive session adds to the NPs knowledge for a particular case. Remote imaging is widely used for screening of diabetic retinopathy.

State regulators and state medical boards who advise legislators have uppermost in mind the efficacy, reliablity and safety of this technology. Medical boards have already prescribed courses and limitations in guidelines for using telemedicine. These are easily found elsewhere in the guidelines form the American Telemedicine Association.

The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) Chair, Jon V. Thomas, MD, MBA, appointed the State Medical Boards’ Appropriate Regulation of Telemedicine (SMART) Workgroup to review the “Model Guidelines for the Appropriate Use of the Internet in Medical Practice” (HOD 2002)1 and other existing FSMB policies on telemedicine and to offer recommendations to state medical and osteopathic boards (hereinafter referred to as “medical boards” and/or “boards”) based on a thorough review of recent advances in technology and the appropriate balance between enabling access to care while ensuring patient safety. The Workgroup was charged with guiding the development of model guidelines for use by state medical boards in evaluating the appropriateness of care as related to the use of telemedicine, or the practice of medicine using electronic communication, information technology or other means, between a physician in one location and a patient in another location with or without an intervening health care provider.

MODEL POLICY FOR THE APPROPRIATE USE OF TELEMEDICINE TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE Report of the State Medical Boards’ Appropriate Regulation of Telemedicine (SMART) Workgroup Adopted as policy by the Federation of State Medical Boards in April 2014

Given the rapidity of change in Health 3.0 regulations will not remain statics as HIT evolves further.

50 STATE PDF FILE APRIL 2017 FINAL PASSWORD PROTECT.pdf

‘The most courageous person I knew’: Man buries wife, then daughter she died trying to save

Ten days after Nick DeKlyen buried his wife, he returned to Georgetown Cemetery in western Michigan to inter the daughter whom his wife had died to save, a tragic coda for a family confronted with a heart-rending decision five months ago when Carrie DeKlyen discovered she had a tumor. She was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer that […]

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Reiki Training, Boundaries, & Living Life in the HSP Lane

Hi my angels!

It has been a very transformational, mind-altering, high vibing, shedding-old-layers kind of week in TBB land. With every passing day lately, I seem to be feeling closer to my true purpose in this life (which is of course always shifting and evolving) and it’s a pretty huge honor to be able to blog about it all and take you guys along on the journey with me… and to have you care, most of all!

Homegirl can write all she wants, but having you guys care and feel it and process it along with me means the world and makes me feel very lucky and grateful every. damn. day.

Shedding Layers

As you know, starting my podcast has altered my life in just about every way. It bridged the gap between myself and you guys, because HELLLOOO talking conversationally on a podcast is the most authentic, person-to-person, real life way to connect on the Internet in my opinion. It also introduced me to just about every spiritual, magical, high vibe person in my life who have slowly but surely changed the way I look at the world, at myself, and at my business.

One of those people is the incredible Kelsey Patel, my now reiki master and dear friend, who you can find on Episode 43 of the podcast (one of our most listened to episodes!). Yesterday, Kelsey lead me and another dear human in my life Michelle through our Reiki I training. I don’t yet quite have the words to describe how meaningful this training was for me, how the entire day flew by as if I had blinked and it was over, or how powerful the practice of reiki healing is already becoming in my life — after one short day of diving deep, but what feels like a lifetime of events and divinely guided circumstances that lead me to this point.

all photos by morgan oliver allen

Reiki Training & Feeling Through Writing

As all good reiki masters do, Kelsey intuited what I needed most from this training and her thoughts feel very correct and connected to me. In my daily life I share, share, share, and I actually am able to PROCESS information about what I am going through and feeling by writing, sharing, and blasting my heart on social media, the podcast, and blog. It might sound like an interesting way to process information, but I love this aspect of myself. The first time someone told me they observed this “feeling through writing + sharing” quality about my personality was my high school English teacher (and one of my life idols) Mr. Brooke Wells.

He shed light on the fact that I feel through writing, and encouraged me to write about my feelings, journal my heart out, and write about my challenges and trials in order to tap into how I really feel about them. That was over a decade ago, and since then I have blogged full-time, written a book and three ebooks, taken to writing novel-style captions on social media daily, and kept a journal every single day. So it’s no surprise that Kelsey looked me dead in the eyes yesterday and said: “This training is for you, and I encourage you to keep much of what you take away today to yourself. See how it feels to experience it for YOU and simply for your own healing.”

Wowwww. That struck a chord.

Of course I’ve journaled about my reiki attunement, I’ve shared the deets with the love of my life and my mama, and will begin practicing reiki on my dear friends and loved ones in the next few days. But as far as the experience and journey itself, I am going to hold the sacredness of yesterday near and dear to my heart until I am ready to share more. What I can say, is that the journey is surely the beginning of a new and incredible healing venture for me, and is already breaking down barriers within myself that I thought I would possibly never have access to.

Boundaries, Boundaries, Boundaries

One thing that keeps coming up for me is setting boundaries. Seriously, it’s come up three HUGE times this week with my breath work guru, an insanely talented spiritual teacher and tarot card reader, and yesterday during my reiki attunement.

I have done a lot of intuitive opening this year, but I have not necessarily done all of the proper protective work to preserve my own energy. Something I do in life is give, give, give a ton of energy and convince myself that I don’t always need to replenish it, that I am fine, that I will get through another day giving as much as I can and I’ll rest “this weekend” or “next month” or… “maybe in 2018.”

No.

I am reversing that cycle.

Ever since my Panchakarma last year it’s been apparent to me that when I slow down, all of the magical things happen. I am able to tap into my intuition, be in the flow, feel surrounded by love, breathe, and feel HAPPY. In those moments, I am not just running on a hamster wheel, doing the LA thing and attending/hosting every event possible, trying to be liked by everyone, etc.

That’s the old Jordan, and what seems to be the mentality of a lot of people I know. Maybe it is more livable for some people to burn the candle at both ends and feel like they are superhuman and able to be available all the time. (Or maybe not, let’s be real.) For me, I crave and need down time in order to create and tap back into my heart center.

I am creating some new boundaries for myself, and I am very excited to challenge myself to stick to them. I have created an email away message that will permanently stay up — not because I won’t be checking my email or using it for my business partnerships, but because I get a lot of FAQ’s that can be knocked out in one-fell-swoop of a response.

It’s a simple response that says explains I read all my emails, I am a one woman show, and that your message certainly made me smile. I will respond to as many as I can, but if I can’t get back to someone… that’s okay. Life is not about sitting on email and until I get the proper help to help me organize and manage my inbox, this boundary feels REALLY, REALLY good to me.

Same goes for Instagram DM’s because those suck my energy even though every single one I receive makes me happy… so I am finding a balance there with putting my gratitude into the universe for the messages, and knowing also that people understand a response is not always going to be able to come.

I am also dedicating at LEAST one full day a week to stay off of my phone, social media, emails, technology, teaching, all of the above. This will be a me day to recharge and do whatever I want. I can decide spontaneously what kind of workout I want to do, who I want to see (or not see), if I need to lay in bed and read all day to recharge, etc. I am VERY excited about this one!

Lastly, I am working on being ultra communicative by expressing how I REALLY feel in each situation, and being extremely clear with people on what I can/can’t provide and why. I often feel walked all over (who doesn’t, really?) and in order to combat this issue (which is really my issue and not the way anyone is actually treating me) I am working on being hyper-clear in all situations. If something hurts my feelings, I’ll say something. If something feels totally off with an ask from a brand or a reader, I’ll either just delete the request or nicely explain why that is not something I will or can do. If a friend assumes something about me and it’s wrong, I will say so.

This might sound overly direct but for people like me (HIGHLY SENSITIVE and also surrounded by people a large majority of the time) I must say how I feel or the little brimming feeling of being hurt or frustrated or sad will get lodged in my system and affect me down the line.

I want to enjoy every life experience to the fullest, be totally me with no inhibitions holding me back, and I certainly don’t want to be resenting the people in my life because I am holding back my truest of truths. If you know me, you know I won’t be over-communicative in an unnecessary or rude way — this is all meant for the highest and greatest good of myself and all around me.

Oh, and I want that for all of you too!

Life in the HSP Lane

Being highly sensitive has its perks and challenges. Sticking to my boundaries and diving deep into my rituals and spiritual practices really helps me live a better, healthier, happier life.

Some of my absolute go-to’s are… practicing kundalini in the morning (you can see a snippet of my practice here), morning pages and journaling (adapted from Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way), reading books (have you seen my book club post?! It has some of my current faves in it), taking long bath soaks, doing YOGA of course, getting out in nature, and connecting with my loved ones.

Would love to hear any rituals / spiritual practices / boundary rules you have for yourself in your life! This is such a fun subject for me to talk about, and I really look forward to see how this reiki healing modality plays out in my life… thanks for reading babes and for “GETTING ME,” I love you all!”

i love this photo because it’s totally me in a nutshell. no frills, no fancy poses, just me looking into the camera — anyone who knows me knows… this is TBB! the reeeeal deal.

Primal screams, blood and burns: What it’s like to survive a lightning strike

Rain and hail were pelting down and a thunderclap roared across a lake in central California. From afar, the fiery lightning strike that came with it looked like an explosion, darting down a tree trunk before it hit a father and his two young children who had hunkered down beneath it. “It hit that person. It hit a person,” […]

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She chose to die so she could give birth. Now her newborn is dead, too.

The headaches began in March. The couple didn’t think much of them — until Carrie DeKlyen began vomiting. An initial scan showed a mass in her brain. More tests showed that it was a form of cancer, possibly lymphoma, but treatable. But a pathology exam revealed a more grim diagnosis. The 37-year-old mother of five from Wyoming, […]

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Ivanka Trump reveals struggles with postpartum depression on ‘Dr. Oz’

Ivanka Trump revealed in a television interview that she struggled with postpartum depression after the births of her three children. During an interview with Mehmet Oz, better known as Dr. Oz, President Trump's eldest daughter, who also serves as his senior adviser, described the period after the birth of each of her three children as a "very challenging […]

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Could ADHD be a type of sleep disorder? That would fundamentally change how we treat it.

Over the past two decades, U.S. parents and teachers have reported epidemic levels of children with trouble focusing, impulsive behavior and so much energy that they are bouncing off walls. Educators, policymakers and scientists have referred to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, as a national crisis and have spent billions of dollars looking into its cause. They've looked at genetics, brain development, exposure to […]

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61% of healthcare officials indicate terrible, poor ROI on EHRs, survey finds

What did the HITECH ACT and Federal investment for electronic health records produce ?

The Rand Study Projected benefits for EHRs which failed to materialize. There are many reasons.

Where did HITECH’s $35 Billion Dollar Investment Go?

Enough time has passed to evaluate the impact of electronic health records on the practice of medicine in hospitals and outpatient facilties.

The results are damning. Despite early warnings by those in the trenches HHS, and CMS wantonly disbursed over 35 billion dollars into inadequate EHR systems. The systems were immature, untested, user unfriendly and made work loads for physicians and other health professionals so difficult that it initiated an enormous increase in physician burnout, early retirement and the death of private solo practice. A term "meaningful use" was invented, not to make the systems more usable but to subvert the data accumulated to be 'scraped' and analyzed for later analysis. MU also required EHRs to be interoperable (not a bad idea) as well as contain certain data fields many of which are not germane to specialty medical practice. Unless this data was accessible to CMS physicians would be penalized a significant sum for non-compliance.

This was a windfall to hardware and software vendors, and a new group of expensive consultants to advise health providers on IT.

The results are now in.

Becker's Health IT and CIO Review reports:

Nineteen percent of healthcare professionals rated the return on investment for EHRs as "terrible," according to a Health Catalyst survey.

Health Catalyst surveyed more than 1,100 healthcare professionals about their attitudes toward EHRs at the Healthcare Analytics Summit in Salt Lake City earlier this month.

Here's how healthcare professionals responded when asked to assess the ROI produced by EHR investments since the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009, which incentivized EHR adoption.

1. Terrible: 19 percent

2. Poor: 42 percent

3. Mediocre: 29 percent

4. Positive: 9 percent

5. Superb: 1 percent

Nineteen percent of healthcare professionals rated the return on investment for EHRs as "terrible," according to a Health Catalyst survey.

Health Catalyst surveyed more than 1,100 healthcare professionals about their attitudes toward EHRs at the Healthcare Analytics Summit in Salt Lake City earlier this month.

1. Terrible: 19 percent

2. Poor: 42 percent

3. Mediocre: 29 percent

4. Positive: 9 percent

5. Superb: 1 percent

Increasing Costs

In 2009, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that fully integrated interoperability would save the Medicaid and Medicare programs $12.5 billion through 2019. These savings have yet to materialize and with 50 percent of doctors unable to meet current program requirements, it is unlikely that taxpayers will see these savings in the near future. Moreover, the number one complaint we hear from providers is the unexpected costs of maintaining and upgrading their systems.

ONC does not describe how it will determine the costs associated with the adoption of expanding interoperable platforms. Nor does ONC explain how it would evaluate cost or incorporate cost control into the development and scaling of interoperability. Provider concerns about the cost of complying with the program should be addressed in the roadmap.

We appreciate the notion that as new models of care begin to reward providers for outcomes, changing incentives will reward interoperability. We agree. However, we live in the aftermath of the HITECH Act, where to date $28 billion have not resulted in significant improvements to clinical care coordination or quality. Without concrete immediate and long-term steps, tied into accurate, usable (and collectable) performance measures, we will continue to see a meager return on investment.

Lack Of Oversight

One way to improve oversight of the program is to put in place measures to gauge success. ONC appears to be taking a step in the right direction by describing seven different lenses to measure and evaluate the quantity and quality of information flow within interoperable systems, such as who is exchanging information, and where and what type of information is being exchanged. However, without specific performance goals for each type of measurement, it is unclear how ONC will measure success. In addition to defining these metrics, effective oversight includes describing how the metrics will be collected, analyzed, reported, and used for decision making.

CMS and HHS, with Congressional approval by funding HITECH have created a system of increased cost, poor design, and have sabotaged health providers in their already overbearing workflow. They remain hiding behind future studies to prove something that is already self-evident. Res Ipsa Loquitor.

61% of healthcare officials indicate terrible, poor ROI on EHRs, survey finds

Take Two: Inside Bill Cassidy's Plan To Replace Obamacare

Another Republican plan to replace Obamacare is looming. The challenge is daunting to revise Obamacare without endangering total insurability for those who want it. And those who refuse coverage are fined by the IRS. How has it come to this?

There have been at least three Obamacare replacement plans that have come to light in the media. There are undoubtedly many others which have not come to the light of day. Political and partisan thinking have not helped. The agenda is which political party will gain, not the welfare of patients or the gordian knot of health systems.

America's health system is a collection of organizations. Medicare, Medicaid, Veteran's Administration, DOD, and Private insurers. During the past five years there have been multiple mega-mergers of insurance plans to maximize profit. Skimming and selective availability diminish the availability of health insurance coverage. While federal regulations have attempted to increase competition and decrease cost the opposite has occured.

The most recent attempt is

Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson

More specifically, GCHJ:

Repeals Obamacare Individual and Employer Mandates.
Repeals the Obamacare Medical Device Tax.
Strengthens the ability for states to waive Obamacare regulations.
Returns power to the states and patients by equalizing the treatment between Medicaid Expansion and Non-expansion States through an equitable block grant distribution.
Protects patients with pre-existing medical conditions.

GCHJ replaces the BCRA. “Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson” builds off of many of the ideas in the Better Care Reconciliation Act, but with one major change.

Block Grants are the key to GCHJ, Federalism at it's worst.

And in further news......

Obamacare Repeal, Thought Dead in July, May Be Revived in Senate

Congressional efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act sprang back to life on Monday as Senate Republicans pushed for a showdown vote on new legislation that would do away with many of the health law’s requirements and bundle its funding into giant block grants to the states. The Republican leaders of the latest repeal effort, Senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, said their effort — considered all but impossible earlier this month — was gaining momentum. The seven-year drive to repeal President Barack Obama’s signature domestic achievement appeared to collapse in July when it fell one vote short in the Senate.

“I’m not interested in only having an up-or-down vote on what’s one-fifth of the gross national product,” Mr. McCain said.

He fails to point out the fact that 100% of Americans are affected by health reform.

The Latest Health Care Repeal Plan Would Give States Sweeping Discretion

Take Two: Inside Bill Cassidy's Plan To Replace Obamacare

Selena Gomez’s kidney transplant: Young, minority women disproportionately affected by lupus

In the world of celebrities, there are diseases such as HIV/AIDS and breast cancer that are very “popular” and well understood, thanks to years of fundraising and awareness campaigns by stars. And there are those diseases that are less so. Lupus, an autoimmune disorder that can damage organs, is in the second category. When Selena Gomez shocked her 126 […]

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To fight deadly hepatitis outbreak, San Diego begins power-washing streets with bleach

Crews have started sanitizing streets, sidewalks and gutters in San Diego to try to combat a hepatitis A outbreak among the city's homeless population. Amid an outbreak across San Diego County that health officials say has led to 16 deaths and nearly 300 hospitalizations, workers were power-washing areas in downtown San Diego earlier this week with water laced with chlorine and […]

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Researchers find hint of a link between flu vaccine and miscarriage

Researchers studying the impact of the flu vaccine in pregnancy have found a possible link between miscarriage early in pregnancy in women who received the flu vaccine two years in a row. It’s the first study to identify a potential link between miscarriage and the flu vaccine and the first to assess the effect of repeat influenza […]

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TBB Book Club: Back in ACTION!

Hi guys! I am so excited to bring back the long awaited, much requested, personal passion project (because I love to read more than ANYTHING)… TBB Book Club!

I can’t even remember the last time I did a book club post on the blog, although I used to do them quite frequently. I am thinking from here forward, once a month I’ll share with you guys what I am reading, and anything else noteworthy that I’ve read and am obsessed with.

I do mention books on my podcast quite a bit, especially my solo episodes (like this Q&A episode) but the general consensus from you guys was that you wanted a place where you could click directly on the links and have them all in one place, so here we are!

Mostly these books will be spiritual deep dives (because that’s what seems to be the most requested and are a LOT of what I’m into right now!), fiction / romance / darker fiction (I love a good DARK read), and some of the self-improvement, business-savvy books I am crazy into. Oh, and health of course because I can’t get my hands on enough health books if my life depended on it.

Making time to read is something that has greatly improved my life in so many ways, and I know many of you have the same experience. I like to read in the bath, in bed before I sleep (to stay away from electronics!) and even midday when I need a reset and a burst of inspiration.

On vacation, you’ll find me juggling (or attempting to juggle) 5-6 books in a WEEK because it’s LITERALLY all I do when I have no other responsibilities to stay on top of.

Would also love for you guys to share what YOU’RE reading, by commenting here on this post and also by using the hashtags #TBBbookclub and #TBBmademedoit on Instagram!

Now, ready to dive in? Let’s do it!

TBB Book Club // September Edition

1. Between Two Worlds // Tyler Henry

This book is SO freaking good for anyone who is interested in what it’s like to channel messages from the other side (a.k.a people who have died), how to navigate learning to open up in that way yet also protect yourself and your energy, answer the tricky question of who/what is “God” or a Higher Power if there is in fact a heavenly other side and an afterlife… and so much more. Tyler is the Hollywood Medium on E! and his show is one of the only TV shows I actually tun into as much as I can because he fascinates me.

His readings are so beyond accurate and he shares in his book a lot of his trials and insecurities about starting to work in Hollywood at such a young age, what it’s like to be a medium to the stars, and so much more. He is a captivating writer and a loving soul. As someone who is beginning to open up to messages from the other side as well… Tyler’s guidance has been beyond interesting and also so comforting.

He too struggled with learning how to use his gifts in the beginning, and I would have thought that for a medium as gifted and SPOT ON as him, channeling messages would have always been a breeze! Not the case, and very fascinating to hear his journey, how his family wound up accepting him in the end (his dad was very opposed at first), how he navigated growing up with seeing / hearing spirits and KNOWING when friends were going to die… so much. All of it is so good.

LOVE this book. A+ for anyone who wants to dive deeper on their spiritual path and learn more about a specific, very interesting medium’s journey! Also fun Hollywood tidbits and some cute photos of him with celebs and his fam which is always a plus.

2. The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire // Deepak Chopra

I have long been a fan of Deepak’s books on opening ourselves up to universal guidance, connecting to our divine intuition, and using ancient medicine and holistic traditions to live healthy, radically soulful and successful, divinely guided lives. But only lately, ever since I started REALLY opening up spiritually, have Deepak’s philosophies spoken to me on a much deeper level.

This particular book is similar to many of the other themes he is known for writing about, but focuses particularly on the theme of synchrodestiny. He dives deep to explain to us that there are no coincidences in life, and that miracles happen on a daily basis if we allow ourselves to see them that way. Each step in our lives, every single little decision we make and thing that we do, adds up to bring us to where we are today.

I think about this simple truth all the time. I decided to go to Loyola Marymount University for college basically on a whim, because “I wanted to live in LA” and also because I didn’t get into my “dream school” of USC. If I hadn’t gone to LMU, I wouldn’t be where I am today, at ALL. I wouldn’t know the people who I am surrounded by now. I wouldn’t have met the love of my life… not because I met him in college (I didn’t), but because my best friend from college introduced me to OrangeTheory Fitness which introduced me to Jonathan.

Also, a friend from college built my website! Convinced me to buy the domain name, create a Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest page for my blog, took my first ever blog photos… on and on. In fact, I moved to Brentwood because my big sister in my sorority in college lived here and I loved the neighborhood. Now a huge part of my world basically revolves around this little neighborhood and the amazing people within it.

Experiences I had at LMU, in Alpha Phi, studying abroad in Italy, moving to NYC… each and every one of them lead me to this point now. Not to be morbid, but I constantly think about all of the OTHER paths I could have taken, and think… “If I had taken a different path at any point in time, would I have potentially gotten in a car accident? A scary situation? Would I be alive?”

One step leads to the next leads to the next, and he highlights that in the book in so many important and eye opening ways.

It’s those topics and themes that Deepak discusses in this book and I LOVE it because it gets my mind moving and keeps me super connected to where I am now and so grateful for the path I am on. (There is no right or wrong path… it’s all simply our LIFE! How cool is that?)

3. White Hot Truth // Danielle LaPorte

I love this book because it’s written in the down to earth, friend-to-friend, no bullshit way that Danielle writes all of her books and blog posts in. It dives deep on a spiritual level, but also makes fun of the constant “seeking” that we as spiritual people do. She pokes fun at herself for all of the woo-woo things she’s tried from having shamans on speed dial (guilty as charged), to seeing crystal healer after crystal healer to help ease the depression she felt after her divorce, to begging psychics for guidance in every area of her life, to relying on creative business coaches that were actual bullshit, and so much more.

It really strikes a chord within me because I am an extreme person (especially when it comes to this stuff) and I can relate to searching for healing in so many different areas. I am definitely DEEP into the whole woo-woo, medium, meditation, reiki, healer vibes right now and while I LOVE exploring these paths, I totally see where she is coming from. Life is about the JOURNEY, not about the destination of finding that so-called perfect level of enlightenment.

The subtitle is “Clarity for Keeping It Real on Your Spiritual Path from One Seeker to Another,” and who doesn’t need that?! She reminds us that as fun as it is to dive into synchrodestiny, opening to channel, mediumship and so much more… our lives are also right here in front of us and at the end of the day WE have the power and control to deal with everything that is sent our way.

Realness level = 100!!! Love it.

4. Opening to Channel // Sanaya Roman and Duane Packer

Okay so this one is fabulous and this is one that I mentioned in my Solo Q&A podcast episode. I know a lot of you are in a similar boat that I’m in, which is that you are opening way up to the universe, to non-physical beings and otherworldly things, to the galaxies and celestial awesomeness (if you have no idea what I am talking about and you are interested in it, check out this episode on all things celestial and galactic) and you pretty much have no idea where to go from there or WHAT to do with the information you feel and know to be true to you.

There is a LOT to learn when we are opening our intuitions and learning how to channel from the other side. This book also busts that myth that only those with a special gift are able to connect with spirit guides, their higher selves, and the universal mind. In reality, we ALL have the ability to connect. It takes a lot of work and a specific, judgement-free outlook to begin to channel, but it is a skill that CAN be learned.

How cool is that?!?! I would highly recommend this book for absolutely anyone who is interested in learning how to channel or interested in honing their skill that they have started to tap into. Automatic writing, anyone!??! It’s also a super digestible book which I appreciate.

On that note, I have about 10 other books that are great for opening up to channel that I will continue to share in future posts. I will link some of them below in the “shop” feature at the bottom of this post!

5. Superwoman RX // Tasneem Bhatia

This book is awesome for so many reasons. The premise is that the modern woman is a superwoman, no matter what she does. We juggle careers, motherhood, relationships, taking care of ourselves, our homes, our cats (hi Squeaky Mouse), or spirits and minds, and so much more. Instead of all of the cookie cutter books out there that talk about how “we should ALL do X, Y & Z in order to stay healthy” — this book offers five specific prescriptive plans based on a woman’s unique blueprint (or Power Type) in order to find your fullest health, wellness and happiness potential.

She draws inspiration from Ayurvedic, Chinese and Western medicine to prescribe a plan for each type of woman, and holy crap are these plans helpful to have as a guidebook in your back pocket.

There are many quizzes in the book, like figuring out your Mojo (how taxed you are or if you’re taking good care of yourself already) and figuring out your Power Type. Of course my Mojo is low… as we all know because I say it all of the time — I am quite overextended and that is my usual tendency.

Before I took the Power Type quiz I thought for SURE I would be a Gypsy Girl or an Earth Mama (I mean hello, you guys know me), but it turns out, according to the Power Types in the book, I am a Savvy Chick!

And let me tell you, I counted and recounted my numbers to be sure. Upon reading deeper, I realized how correct this Power Type is for me, and probably for many of you!

Savvy Chicks are equal parts ethereal artist and commander in chief, which totally makes sense to me. I am not a Gypsy Soul or Earth Mama in the senses that I do get stressed out, I do need some structure and routine in my life, I am easily ruffled, I get sick easily and I am prone to skin issues, headaches, and digestion problems, and I DO take on so much work and on other people’s energies with extreme ease.

I am definitely stimulated by creativity and good vibes and bringing my ideas to life, but I also pride myself on running a brand all on my own, fitting more into a day than I’d like to admit, taking care of those around me, and so much more on the “commander” level.

I love Dr. Taz for recognizing this as a Power Type! Not all of us hippie chicks have our heads in the clouds all the time, we also need that grounded, down to earth-ness about us in order to get all of our goals and intentions done and keep them in order!

She explains that at our best, Savvy Chicks are true visionaries — and at our worst, we are totally plagued by health issues that hold us back. We have “twice the blessings and twice the burdens,” which I can definitely relate to. An amazing amount of goodness, luck and success… but an incredible amount of difficulty and challenge to go along with it.

We are dreamers and doers, and we easily get held back by anxiety, migraines, IBS, insomnia, muscle pain, eczema (HELLO, me), adrenal and thyroid sluggishness and more. Food helps keep us in balance, when we use it as medicine. We need warming foods, lots of exercise, and quite a bit of protein and fat daily! We also shouldn’t use electronics before breakfast.

I could go on and on… but I want you to discover YOUR Power Type. Are you one of the three I mentioned, or are you a Boss Lady, or a Nightingale?! I would love to know.

Shop this amazing book HERE. I love that she draws on Ayurvedic wisdom, my truest love!

6. Fitness Junkie // Lucy Sykes & Jo Piazza

I was lucky enough to receive this hilarious, relatable and super well-written novel at my door earlier this summer right before I went to Hawaii — prime reading time. I still don’t know who sent it (prob the publishing company?) but I am so glad they did. This book chronicles the main character Janey Sweet through getting fired from her job in fashion (by her gay best friend) because she’s “getting fat,” to trying ALL of the health, fitness and wellness trends in the book.

She tries crazy, out there workouts where people scream and wear all grey tones (sound familiar?) to falling slightly in love with a female shaman and going on an insanely psychotic wellness retreat, to realizing in the end… well, I won’t tell you, but read it!

I’d highly recommend this book. It was hilarious and a quick, beachy read.

7. The Alchemist // Paul Coehlo

For anyone getting into energy alchemy… this one is for you. My latest episode with Nicola Behrman, the alchemist and shaman who has changed my life, talks a lot about energy alchemy if you’re looking to learn more about the practice. This is a classic, beautiful and traditional novel, so if you like fiction and appreciate classic literature — read it. I am only part way in this time around (I read it a long time ago before I was particularly into this stuff) so I will write more of a synopsis after I finish it!

There you go, guys. There are so many others that I love and I will keep sharing as the months go on. As I mentioned, use the hashtags #TBBbookclub and #TBBmademedoit to share in the fun, and I would love to know your thoughts if you read any of these books! XO oh and recommendations are ALWAYS welcome!

Showing posts from September, 2017

Real Talk & A Bulletproof Coffee Recipe

A model decided to tattoo her eyeball. She’s now partially blind and in ‘excruciating’ pain.

Mother who refuses to follow court order to vaccinate son: ‘Most likely, I’ll be going to jail’

Loving Lately, RECIPE STYLE ft. Bowl Bosses // 9.29.17

FDA, industry step up efforts to avert drug shortages after Puerto Rico hurricane

The Evil Clinic Administrator Health 3.0 in Marana, Arizona?

Tom Price declines comment on private jet travel, gets his flu shot

He thought he had a lung tumor. It was a tiny toy traffic cone he inhaled 40 years ago.

A woman survived a fall into Hurricane Harvey’s floodwaters — only to die of a flesh-eating infection

Scrap Graham-Cassidy health bill or plunge America and GOP into misery

My Dario

Big Pharma shake up reveals how R&D is changing for mid level pipeline drug advances

FDA halts monkey research denounced by Jane Goodall as ‘shameful’

FDA targets hundreds of ‘rogue’ websites illegally selling opioids and other prescription drugs

State regulations create obstacles for telemedicine

‘The most courageous person I knew’: Man buries wife, then daughter she died trying to save

Reiki Training, Boundaries, & Living Life in the HSP Lane

Primal screams, blood and burns: What it’s like to survive a lightning strike

She chose to die so she could give birth. Now her newborn is dead, too.

Ivanka Trump reveals struggles with postpartum depression on ‘Dr. Oz’

Could ADHD be a type of sleep disorder? That would fundamentally change how we treat it.

61% of healthcare officials indicate terrible, poor ROI on EHRs, survey finds

Take Two: Inside Bill Cassidy's Plan To Replace Obamacare

Selena Gomez’s kidney transplant: Young, minority women disproportionately affected by lupus

To fight deadly hepatitis outbreak, San Diego begins power-washing streets with bleach

Researchers find hint of a link between flu vaccine and miscarriage

Melinda Gates decries ‘loss of U.S. leadership’ in global aid

TBB Book Club: Back in ACTION!

Comments system

Trending Post

REAL TALK //

On another note… Bulletproof Coffee! //

Loving Lately // BOWL BOSS LIFE

ft. Dr. Praeger’s Gluten-Free, Soy-Free & Non-GMO Products

An evil administrator (CEO Clint Kuntz of MHC Healthcare in Tucson, AZ)

An evil administrator (CEO Clint Kuntz of MHC Healthcare in Tucson, AZ) gives me a tour of his community health clinic…and we see the signs of Health 3.0 errrrywhere.

Shedding Layers

Reiki Training & Feeling Through Writing

Boundaries, Boundaries, Boundaries

Life in the HSP Lane

Increasing Costs

Lack Of Oversight

TBB Book Club // September Edition