Health and Healing Sessions with Awakenings
Your experience is real. I believe you.
You know your body best.
Everything is connected and I have some ideas for where to look.
So let’s get to the source of it.
Come sit with me and tell me about your life.
I am here to listen.
I am here to help.
- Part 1: Holistic Healthcare, a Functional and Integrative Model of Care
Where to go? Who to trust? Are we aligned in our beliefs and understanding of the body? Many people who come to us are fed up and feel lost. They’ve gone to a bunch of practitioners, both medical and alternative. They’ve experienced some of the negative consequences of the medical model and don’t quite trust it, but haven’t found the alternatives are that helpful either.They’ve tried to heal themselves based on the research they’ve done online and in books but without guidance because there’s no one to lean on. They’ve tried various diets, tried avoiding food groups, tried medications, tried some herbs, tried acupuncture, or changed some things in their life. Maybe acupuncture helped, but they haven’t kept going or go irregularly.
So they’re still having a prominent discomfort or issue and they’re not sure what to do anymore. They can see and feel things are just the same or getting worse and feel frustrated, and possibly a little scared or feeling helpless.
*Holistic Healthcare encompasses and is inspired by the perspective of and training completed in the Functional and Integrative Professional Training Program.*
We guide you where to go and how to focus your efforts. We oversee all your efforts. We offer continuity and, thus, we get to know YOU and what needs healing next, since it’s never just one thing.
- Part 2: Root Cause
What’s wrong? What are the source of my issues?We assess for the root causes using a system of Rebooting, Reframing, Repairing, and Recharging. We help people on their way to becoming Replenished. We help you uncover what’s going on, finally.
We do the opposite of isolating a symptom, which commonly done in the medical model. We place the symptom in a network of body mechanisms and see how it’s connected, how it impacts, how it manifests.
We get a picture of you: the context, the influences, the triggers, the weaknesses, the fatigue, the overtaxed areas.
We playfully call ourselves “Root-Cause Revolutionaries.”
Physical root causes tend to include:
• Food Triggers & Nutritional Imbalances
• Stress & HPA Axis Dysregulation
• Toxin Exposure & Detoxification Overload
• Gut Imbalances
• Stealth InfectionsFactors that typically need to be addressed to help people regain health, balance and joy, include:
• Stress, Emotional and Spiritual Health
• Toxicity
• Epigenetics
• Our Food
• Physical Root Causes**We use tools: modern laboratory techniques, old school teachings passed down the ages, trial and error grounded in experience, wisdom and intuition. We offer things that may feel familiar, we offer things that may feel silly but are effective. We listen and ask questions and converse, a lot.
- Part 3: Symptoms and Conditions
- Part 4: Making a Plan
Wow! This may be the source of my issue. I’ve been searching for an explanation for years. OR…It’s a little different perspective from the medical diagnosis I was given by a doctor.
Now what? The options seem overwhelming. Do I take pharmaceuticals or herbs? Change my diet, complete a cleanse, which cleanse? Can I take these supplements? Do I see a chiropractor or naturopath or acupuncturist or massage therapist or therapist, or do yoga or, or, or? Can I commit to this plan? Is it achievable? Ugh, I can’t do it that way.
It is challenging to filter through the endless array of options for regaining balance.
We provide applicable information tailored to your lifestyle. We help you make an achievable plan and goals. A plan grounded in realistic options, though, without a doubt, it will require, time, money, energy and commitment. It’s investing in yourself, your long term self and sustainability.This plan is based on the principle that the body has an inherent healing capacity. We understand and witness this capacity everyday. The body has core tools we can leverage to our benefit.
We also witness the barriers—what keeps us from sticking to a plan that we know will help. We help navigate those barriers, since we see them integral, not separate from the healing process.
- Part 5: Layers
Okay, that helped these other issues I was having, but not the core issue.
We are like onions. We peel back one layer, and find another layer deeper. The tears stream more. The journey is long, but if we are committed, one day we get to the core.
As your progress and healing unfolds, we modify or continue or add to your healing plan.
We support you and your choices and stay connected in the process. We help with accountability so you get the results you seek in reasonable timeframes. Soon you will feel like yourself again and wake up in the morning feeling great. - Remedies
What do you actually do to remedy an imbalance?
We focus on removing triggers, rebalancing and repair.
We offer an array of tools and techniques catered to your needs from small to large dietary changes, simple to elaborate cleanses, plant-based medicine such as herbs and homeopathy, incorporating supplements and food-nourishment, life-style change recommendations, bodywork, artwork, movement, somatic and cathartic techniques.
We provide information about toxins in our environment and how to avoid them.
We refer out when necessary to other practitioners so there is a comprehensive team supporting you.
Pharmaceuticals are used when needed, but it turns out they’re needed a lot less often than one might have been told or we’ve believed. We cannot prescribe pharmaceuticals and will refer out to a Medical Doctor when necessary.
- Perspective
What is your perspective?We see the body as interrelated layers which include our physical, spiritual and emotional selves. We are inextricably linked to our environment, and this is certainly factored into the healing process.
Our current living environment and culture is very stressful and taxing on the body. We are supporting it to adapt and find resiliency.
Here, in The Bay, we are on Ohlone land. We ask for there to be reciprocity for the fact that most of us live here on stolen land. For this reason, we donate each year to an Ohlone Reciprocity Fund (sogoreate-landtrust.com/)****. We cannot undue the harm committed, but we can make an offering for settling on this land and receiving its gifts.
We acknowledge and address racism, classism, and other oppressive and harmful cultural and systemic norms as we are able. We believe history matters and effects us today. We believe our ancestry matters. We believe every person is the decider of their identity. We believe people are the deciders of who they love and with whom they share their life. We believe people are the deciders of what to do with their body, and what to put or not put in their body.
The earth and plants have been around for a very long time. Much longer than humans. They have figured out how to heal everything. They are so generous to offer medicine for whatever ails us and all they ask in return is gratitude and respect. We are so fortunate to have plants as a foundational piece of the healing process.
This is a long journey to rediscover gratitude and the joys of living.
We call-in that the path may be clear and fruitful. May it be so, and so it is.
What the Health and Healing Sessions Include
Health and Healing Sessions may include depending on your needs and desires:
- A comprehensive health history assessment (required).
- Screening for dis-ease or imbalance as necessary, including heavy metal toxicity, mineral deficiencies, improper blood cell proportions, microbial (gut) imbalances, endocrine imbalance (hormones), adrenal/thyroid imbalance, blood sugar imbalance, food intolerances/sensitivities including gluten/wheat sensitivity, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), physical exam/assessment of vital organs, breast/chest exam, cervical cancer/HPV (pap smear)
- A proposal for a healthcare plan to aid in optimal health and healing. We oversee and support you in implementing that healing plan and make modifications or complete additional screening as necessary.
- Healing with plant based medicines (herbal, homeopathic & flower remedies), Reiki or other forms of bodywork, energy clearing/energy management meditations, dietary changes including supplements, dietary/bodily cleanses, SRI (Somato Respiratory Integration), lifestyle changes and/or various other modalities within our scope and training.
- Nutritional and lifestyle counseling. These often need guidance and support. We focus on ensuring intake of adequate nutrients and minimizing consumption/exposure to harmful or toxic substances/behaviors/routines. We know this comes in great variation and don’t prescribe to any one way.
- Reproductive health counseling.
- Referrals to local alternative practitioners, as needed.
- Access to our lending library.
The Process
If you’re seeking Health and Healing sessions from Awakenings, we start with a FREE 30 minute phone call to answer any questions and gather enough information to determine where to start or…
Just send us an inquiry letting us know you are interested.
Please be specific with what you’re hoping for with regards to the care. Please share any pertinent information to your history and health, including your main discomforts or areas you would like to focus on.
Getting Started with Awakenings – the Intake Process!
If you’d like to move forward after our initial conversation we’ll set up the first appointment and send you the initial paperwork.
This first session lasts 2-3 hours. We collect as much information about you and your life story as we can with the time we have. We ask lots of questions. You ask us questions. We may complete a physical exam, and possibly order labs. We will begin to make offerings of helpful tips and tool.
With each appointment we will gather more information about you and your life, clarify any questions that may have arisen, provide you with any necessary labs and lab orders and the costs, provide resources and referrals, and make additional offerings to get you started with healing.
Over these first set of sessions, we will formulate a Health and Healing Plan. We will modify the plan as necessary as we continue to gather more information.
As you can see, to get started, several sessions are necessary.
This is holistic healthcare, which means we work with people who are ready to commit to themselves, their healing, get to the source of their health concerns.
- Be prepared to pay for the services in full at the first visit.
Scheduling
Location: Appointment location takes place at your home or our (home) office, depending on your preferences.
When: Appointments are during normal business hours, Monday – Friday.
Length of Appointments: Visits are scheduled for 2 hours, except for the Intake appointment which is 3 hours.
Fees for Services
Please request the financial agreement to see the current fees for services. We feel our fees are very generous and hope you do too. You can purchase individual sessions, a starters package and/or packages of four sessions.
We do offer a sliding scale (see other tab). Let us know your financial situation and we’ll decide on a fee that works for all of us.
Additional Expenses: Refundable Deposit
The standard fee does not include any lab work such as microbial gut testing, hormone testing, heavy metal toxicity screening, paps, blood draws, or STI testing. It does not include herbal and homeopathic remedies provided.
These may incur an additional expense.
Because of this, you may be required to pay, separate from the Holistic Healthcare fee, a “Petty Cash Refundable Deposit.”
The “Petty Cash Refundable Deposit” amount varies and depends on what testing/screening you plan to receive. We estimate the cost of these labs. We consider it a deposit because lab fees are always changing and we will not know the true cost until the bill is received. Any expenses exceeding the refundable deposit will be billed accordingly and you are responsible to pay. Any unused funds will be returned.
Sliding Scale
Access to midwifery care is EXTREMELY important to Awakenings. We hope to provide care to all people regardless of income.
As holistic care has grown, it has moved further and further from low-income communities and people of color. In staying true to the values of midwifery, we offer sliding scale and flexible payment plans to those willing to discuss their financial status with us.
We trust you will value and prioritize this quality care over accessories. But even still, it can be challenging to know whether one qualifies for sliding scale. A general guideline is whether or not it creates “Financial Hardship.” Generally, if you have to wonder whether it does or doesn’t, you probably don’t fit that category. If you’re struggling to pay rent each month or can’t purchase the nourishing foods you want, you do qualify.
If you decide a sliding scale applies to you, please consider bartering for a portion of the fee. We are open to your ideas!
Insurance Coverage
If you have a PPO health insurance, you may be able to obtain reimbursement in accordance with your insurance plan for services from providers who are “out-of-network.”
If you would like to bill insurance, we will provide a bill with the codes applicable to the care you received and you can then submit that to your insurer.
We can bill bloodwork labs directly to your insurer.