Points of Origin

Holistic Health Care For the Whole Family

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2019 Aspirations & Inspirations

Looking Ahead With Optimism and Anticipation

Do you have a list of things you'd like to experience and accomplish in 2019? I'll share mine if you share yours. 🙂 

At the top of my list is to read a few 'fun' books (not my usual health-care-sciency-nerd-fun books), make a dedicated rest, relaxation & meditation space in my home, and discover even more healthy, nourishing, EASY meals I can make for (i.e. test out on) Peter and my mom. (Lucky them!) 

These are my fluffy goals. The ones that just make me feel connected and at peace. 

Read, rest, rejuvenate

Of course, I also have a list of specific goals for my business, financial, social and creative expansion, many of which have deadlines and measurable outcomes.

I'm really excited about new things that are emerging at our Points of Origin clinic as we approach our 20th year in practice. I'm also just excited about the opportunity to engage with you about your health journeys and how we can be more helpful.

I never used to be a goal-setter. In truth, I really don't sit down and make a list of goals. Instead I do a kind of visualization where I project myself a year into the future and 'look back' on the year and imagine the things I accomplished, felt and experienced based on what I'd like to achieve. 

HOW TO VISUALIZE YOUR GOALS 

It's easier than it sounds. Just imagine it's the year 2020 (i.e. a year from now) and you're reflecting back on 2019 and remembering all the amazing things you experienced. Visualize each thing you want to achieve in great detail as if it has already happened.... that meditation space with bright sunlight and cozy pillows that makes you breathe deeply just by remembering it; the stack of inspiring books you read and are now taking to the library to donate for someone else to enjoy; the new plant based healthy meals you had fun creating and sharing and now make regularly with ease... You get the idea. 

It's a fun way to create goals and look forward to the year ahead. I'd love to know what your fluffy or specific aspirations are for 2019.

What excites you the most about the new year unfolding before you?

Of course there will be change and challenges. Let's not dwell on them for now. There will be plenty of time to deal with the inevitable difficulties. For now we can reclaim that childlike dreamer in each of us and pretend we can create our very own future! 

Please share in the comments section below a fluffy goal or two you have for the upcoming year. Also, if you have a good, fun, fiction book you recommend, I'd love to hear about it!

Cheers to a happy, healthy 2019 and beyond!

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Gardening Again Thanks To Doris

How do you grow a Vegetable garden when you don't have Much Time?

Can you relate to wanting to have a garden but not having much time (or space) to devote to a garden? That was my dilemma last year.

Although I have plenty of land to have a vegetable garden, I had a lot on my plate as far as responsibilities and didn't have much time to devote to gardening. 

But I wanted to grow my own food. Just the basics. You know... fresh tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, strawberries lettuce and other goodies. There's nothing like eating real food out of your own back yard!

In years past, I dug up a large area, fenced it off from critters (yes, Kiwi too), got fresh soil, prepared the beds, planted starts and seeds, weeded, watered, weeded more... you know the drill. I loved it but it was time consuming. 

Kiwi, Official Garden Tower Supervisor and Nibble Master

I needed an easier way to garden that didn't require so much of my time.

Enter The Garden Tower!

After a little web research I found an awesome USA based company dedicated to helping people in small spaces, with limited resources grow their own food! (Check them out at thegardentowerproject.com). ​​​​​

Unboxed gardent tower

The parts were light weight and easy to unbox. The hardest part was deciding exactly where to put it. 

Soil for the garden tower

It took almost all three bags of soil to fill the entire garden tower. I combined these organic varieties.

It was a BIG RISK to invest in this garden tower without knowing if it was going to solve my problem. I decided to give it a try because I really like the mission of the company and also the fact that the garden tower isn't just a garden.

It's an entire ecosystem!

The center of the tower is a compost! All you have to do is add some composting worms along with some bedding (cardboard or newspaper) and throw your kitchen scraps in there and voila! The worms do their magic while weaving in and out through the soil providing extra nutrition to all the growing plants. It's genius!

The Garden Tower is also a composter

The center of the tower has a removable lid. That's where you put your worms, 'bedding' and compostable food scraps. 

Garden tower center cylinder

This shows the center cylinder before I added the soil.

Setting Up and Planting The Garden Tower

I set it up over the course of several days. First just the parts, then I got the soil and then the vegetable starts. I planted over 50 plants! 

I can reach the top!

The whole thing was pretty easy to put together. I did it all by myself.

Supervisor Kiwi

Kiwi supervised the entire process. I was sure to plant the strawberries at "nose height".

Planting starts in the garden tower

I bought organic starts, including 3 kinds of lettuce and also planted some seeds. 

I named My Garden Tower

It happened naturally. Every morning and every evening after work I looked forward to checking on my garden tower. One morning I stepped out onto the patio and just said, "Hi Doris!". I didn't even think about it. Spooky! But it just felt right so we've never looked back. Even my mom and Peter call her Doris! 🙂

I love watering Doris each evening. It only takes a few minutes especially because the hose is right next to her and there's a 'drawer' at the bottom of the tower that collects nutrient-rich water. The garden tower company does offer a self-watering attachment, which I think would be great for people who travel and can't water regularly. 

But I love my 'Doris time" and enjoy watering her in the evenings and sometimes first thing in the morning, depending on the weather.

It's funny because the whole purpose in getting the garden tower was because I didn't have TIME for a garden. Now... I feel like there's plenty of relaxed time.

Pete resting with Doris

I forgot to mention that the garden tower spins. The base stays in one place, but the upper part can be turned. This is great when the sun is too hot.

Doris is growing

I made the mistake of planting mint and learned that it will take over the tower. So I replanted it in a separate pot. Live and learn!

Doris supplies dinner!

I added a pinwheel at the top to keep the birds from nibbling. There's a tray at the bottom to collect water -- such a smart design!

Salad Time!

Thanks to Doris we ate salad just about every night with dinner last year. I'd usually collect a few leaves each of red leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce and butter lettuce, grab some fresh basil, a cucumber and a bunch of cherry tomatoes and strawberries. Then add a can of chick peas and top with raw pumpkin seeds and our favorite salad dressing. YUM!

Do you have a favorite salad combo? I'd love to hear it! I'm prepping Doris for this year's garden and I'm looking for new things to plant. I forgot to mention... I don't have a green thumb (thank goodness Doris is very forgiving) so any gardening tips are also appreciated! 

Click here to learn more about the Garden Tower Project

Plant Based Websites, Videos and Books: Resources For Transitioning To A Healthy Diet

A whole food, plant based diet has been shown to be a healthy diet for fighting the most common chronic, degenerative diseases. That's great news! It means we each have the power to make dietary choices that make us healthier. If you're looking for resources to support your transition to a whole food plant based diet, check out the list of websites, videos and books we've complied. 

Why Try A Whole-Food, Plant-Based Diet? Video Presentation By Dr. Anthony Lim

We stumbled down the “whole food, plant based” rabbit hole a little over two years ago. Learning how simple dietary interventions can treat and even reverse many chronic degenerative diseases (things like, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes & pre-diabetes, arthritis, etc.), has been very eye-opening and exciting.

More and more physicians are starting to catch on. This is an excellent presentation by Dr. Anthony Lim, a medical doctor who works with Dr. John McDougall at The McDougall Program and with Dr. Ala Goldhammer at TrueNorth Health Center as well as at Kaiser Permanente in Santa Rosa, CA . Yes, he’s a busy guy!

In this informative video Dr. Lim shows what a whole food, plant based diet looks like and how easy it is to start eating. He also explains how he helps patients overcome common diseases by prescribing diet and lifestyle changes instead of medications and procedures. The results are remarkable and lasting.

Let us know if you’d like to get some guidance transitioning to a whole food plant based diet.

We offer a Nutrition & Lifestyle Education workbook as well as membership to access additional online resources to help you make healthy decisions that can change (and SAVE) your Life! Contact us today to learn more.

To your health!

Lisa & Peter Hanfileti

Dr. Dean Ornish – How Simple Diet and Lifestyle Choices Affect Your Health

It’s no secret that the food we eat influences our health. It’s common sense.

Yet doctors admit that they receive very little if any education about nutrition and what kind of diet causes or prevents diseases. That defies common sense.

So when you are looking for answers about how food and dietary patterns affect your health, you might have to look beyond your doctor’s office.

The good news is you don’t have to look too far.

There are many physicians and other well trained health care providers who have found the plethora of research on the health benefits of a whole food, plant-centered diet. Many, like Dr. Dean Ornish have gone on to conduct their own clinical and laboratory studies that show how quickly the body can heal from some of the most devastating diseases (including our #1 killer, heart disease) given the right food.

More recent research is even showing that genetic expression is influenced by environmental factors, namely our diet and lifestyle habits. That’s very exciting — it means we are not powerless!

So if you are struggling with health problems or worry about your genetic predisposition for certain illnesses, I encourage you to watch this short Talk by Dr. Ornish.  He is a pioneer in the field of lifestyle medicine and has not only inspired people all over the world to take control of their health (including us!), but he has shown doctors and other health care providers that complicated diseases can be treated and prevented with healthy food, fresh air, exercise, meaningful work and caring relationships.

If you would like to learn more about how diet and lifestyle changes can influence your health, join our “Meals Are Medicine” classes and Wellness Forum.

Dean Ornish, M.D., is the founder and president of the non-profit Preventive Medicine Research Institute and Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. For almost 40 years, he has directed clinical research demonstrating that comprehensive lifestyle changes may begin to reverse severe coronary heart disease, without drugs or surgery. He was appointed by President Clinton to the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy and by President Obama to the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health. He was selected as one of the “TIME 100” in integrative medicine and by Forbes as “one of the seven most powerful teachers in the world.” He received his medical training from the Baylor College of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and the Massachusetts General Hospital. He earned a B.A. in Humanities summa cum laude from the University of Texas in Austin.

How I Hopped On The Peas Train – And You Can Too!

Lunch timeLittle did I know that my journey to a whole food, plant based diet started before I was even aware. When I was growing up my parents fed me in the best way they knew how and I love them for it. We ate a ‘healthy’ diet—including dairy and meat on a daily basis to get our protein and calcium, vegetables and fruit to get our vitamins, and whole grain bread. (I was so jealous of the white bread sandwiches my friends enjoyed!) The holes in our diet were filled in with a daily supplement regimen to help guard against disease. All in all, it worked! We stayed relatively healthy and enjoyed ‘good’ food while doing it.

Once I had my own children, I fed them the way I had been taught and we all continued to experience good health. As we all aged, however, I began to notice a pattern in my immediate and extended family—the pattern of getting sick as we grew older. My grandparents and many of my aunts and uncles on both my maternal and paternal sides were succumbing to the typical aging diseases of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s. Watching this process produced a lot of fear in me and caused a general sense of helplessness. I felt as if I had no control and that because of my genetic makeup, was doomed to similar outcomes.

When Peter and Lisa Hanfileti introduced me to a whole food, plant based way of life, I was skeptical at first. After watching the documentary Forks Over Knives and surfing the internet for more research based information, I became incredibly hopeful. By changing the fuel I used to feed my body, I could make significant changes in my current and future health AND even change my genetic markers for disease. I adopted the way of life immediately. After a lifetime of yo-yo dieting, I feel I have found the answer to weight loss (have lost 25 lbs in 15 months!) and a lifetime of good health.

I feel great and am excited to share what I now know—that I can feel empowered instead of feeling like a victim and that I can be informed and proactive instead of blindly eating my way to poor health outcomes. I invite you to join me on my path to wellness! Hop on the whole food, plant based train—it’s a rewarding ride!

UPDATE January 2017! (From Lisa) Our beloved Cynthia was offered the proverbial “job she couldn’t refuse” that allowed her to do three things that she could not do at Points of Origin. Namely, work (1) full time, (2) with her husband and (3) from home! We are so grateful for her contributions to Points of Origin over the last two years! She promised to stay in touch and make special appearances at our ongoing health and wellness classes. Thank you, Cynthia!

If you’d like to learn more about how to transition to a whole food plant based diet, send us a quick email or call our office at 360-449-4500 and we’ll put you at the top of our notification list so that you’re notified as soon as we schedule new classes.

The Science Behind Yoga Video

The Science Behind Yoga Motivates Me To Get My Behind To Yoga

Since I surprised myself and started doing hot yoga a short while ago, I’ve often wondered where to find “proof” about yoga’s health benefits. You’d think that just me feeling better, stronger, fitter, etc., would be all the proof I needed but you’d be wrong.

 

science behind yoga

Watch “The Science Behind Yoga” movie on the Uplift website.

In those dark, sweaty moments when my muscles are quivering and I just want to collapse onto my yoga mat I need something to tell my brain that all this struggle is worth the effort. I don’t think it’s too much to ask for a little scientific proof that all my hard work will payoff. So if there is scientific evidence to justify twisting my body into these painful shapes, I want to hear it.

Thank goodness there are excellent researchers and historians who have delved into the science behind yoga’s many health benefits! For instance, in one study researchers were able to show that yoga helped people with depression more than standard drug therapies. And guess how much time the “depressed” participants spent doing yoga? As little as 12 minutes a day. Wow!

Now when I’m in yoga class and an instructor explains how a certain posture is good for my pituitary gland, or lungs or colon, I can smile inside, stretch a little further, endure the quivering a little longer and breathe a little deeper knowing there’s science behind yoga… and that’s why my behind continues to go to yoga. Namaste!

Hot Women In Hot Yoga

There’s a myth that menopausal women can’t do hot yoga!

I know this because I used to believe I’d suffocate and die (or kill someone) if I had to endure stepping into a 105-degree room, let alone struggling to twist my body into incomprehensible shapes for 90 minutes while in that heated room. To me, that sounded like the definition of torture.

So how did I go from that steadfast belief to being featured in this month’s Bikram Hot Yoga Vancouver’s newsletter?

Personally, I blame my husband. 🙂 Let me back up …. In November of 2015, Peter, and I had recently changed to eating a whole food, plant based diet and we felt great. In 6 months I had easily lost 25 stubborn pounds that had been bothering me for years.

I was thrilled about the weight loss, but my goal was health.

I knew in order to be healthy and continue to lose the extra weight I still carried, I needed to include some form of consistent exercise.

As I pondered and rejected the unsustainable forms of exercise I’d tried in the past (things like; soccer, running, walking, barre3, hiring a personal trainer, joining a gym, etc.), I watched my husband quietly get up at 5 a.m. to go to hot yoga three times a week.

He looked so content and refreshed each morning and throughout the work day. (We work together.) He was excited to talk to me about his experiences with hot yoga — and wise not to pressure me into going with him. I listened but was not moved to try it myself.

That was until I overheard a respected colleague advising a client that, “in order to achieve your goals, sooner or later you have to do something you don’t want to do”. It immediately hit me. Here I was trying to achieve health and optimum weight but I was dragging my feet when it came to making the necessary changes to incorporate regular exercise. When I asked myself what I didn’t want to do, the first thing that popped into my mind was HOT YOGA!

So off I went. Peter tried his best to prepare me for the heat and the class format. I expected to try it three times and conclude “it’s not for me” and pat myself on the back for trying something new. To my surprise, by the third class I can honestly say I loved it.

Yes, having hot flashes in a hot room sucks. But the truth is having hot flashes anywhere sucks. At least I’m already sweaty and don’t have to hide it in the hot yoga studio.

For me, the benefits of yoga far outweigh any temporary discomfort caused by having a hot flash. I’ve noticed changes in my balance, coordination, flexibility, strength, and muscle tone. Scientific studies have shown that people who practice yoga regularly experience measurable health benefits which may include the lowering of; blood pressure, cholesterol and BMI. [1]

As an acupuncturist and holistic health care provider, I prefer and recommend natural forms of preventative medicine that recognize the body-mind connection. Hot yoga is a form of therapeutic exercise that fits nicely with this approach to health.

As of this writing I’ve been going to hot yoga with Peter three mornings a week for the past 8 months. I look forward to the classes even when getting out of bed at 5 a.m. is difficult. I always look forward to learning from the yoga instructors. Their dedication, enthusiasm and commitment along with their gentle but firm words of encouragement make me feel like anything is possible.

I like that they encourage us to be curious. Ask ourselves, what body did I bring to class today? They guide and prompt us to adjust our awareness. Don’t judge. Let go. Breathe. These are all life lessons, rolled into one hot, sweaty 90-minute class. And in those instances when I do have an intense hot flash, I find my focus is less and less on relieving the heat from my body and more and more on stretching my mind to move beyond my body. There is a comforting freedom in those rare moments when I’m able to be present in that space.

The pervasive myth that menopausal women can’t possibly tolerate hot yoga needs to be exposed so more women are inspired to give it a try. The worst that can happen is you feel really, really, REALLY hot. But that’s happening anyway. So you might as well take advantage of the benefits of yoga.

Plus, I’ve learned that being in a room surrounded by a bunch hot, sweaty people who care about their health (and who don’t care that I’m a little hotter and sweatier), is a very liberating experience!

NOTE: I’ll be doing a free informal online class (webinar) called “Hot Women In Hot Yoga!” for menopausal women who are interested in learning more about the challenges and benefits of hot yoga, acupuncture and plant based eating. You are invited to join me in the discussion, ask questions and offer insights. It’s free and sure to be fun!

Register here: [This event has ended. Contact Lisa to request an encore presentation.]

Lisa and Peter Hanfileti own and operate Points of Origin, PLLC, a holistic health care clinic providing acupuncture and private health consultation services. For more information you can go to their website at https://pointsoforigin.com. They live in Vancouver with their dog and 2 cats and are delighted to be part of the hot yoga community. Namaste!

[1] Chu P, Gotink R, Yeh G, Goldie S, Hunink M. “The effectiveness of yoga in modifying risk factors for cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.” Eur J Prevent Cardiol published online ahead of print 2014; DOI:10.1177/2047487314562741.

Chef Del Sroufe’s Encore Class – Free Online

Chef Del Sroufe, over-delivered in his special class for Wellness Forum Health Portland Vancouver where he shared his, “Plant Based Journey to Optimum Health”. He talked a lot about healthy eating and a healthy mindset while he made and served us 3 of his favorite plant-based “Summer Salads”. They were delicious! (If you want the recipes, let us know.)

We had so many questions and interest for more information from Chef Del we invited him back! Since he lives in Ohio and runs Wellness Forum Foods he couldn’t exactly hop on a plane and come back here so he agreed to do the next best thing. He’s going to appear live on a virtual (online) video call (also known as a web-based seminar or webinar) that you can access through your computer, tablet, or mobile device. We have no doubt he will entertain and educate us all once again in this virtual class.

You are invited to attend this online webinar to ask questions or just listen in to learn more about healthy plant-based nutrition from the expert. Reserve your spot by filling out the form on the right side of this page, or go to the registration page to learn more:

http://events.pointsoforigin.com/chef-del-sroufe-encore-presentation-event-registration/

Chef Del will also fill us in on some of the upcoming classes at Wellness Forum Health and we’ll let you know about events in the local Portland/Vancouver area.

When: Saturday, July 16 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM (PDT)

Where: Online! – This is a virtual class so you can be located anywhere in the world as long as you have internet access! Please help us spread the word by sharing this information with people you know who can benefit from a healthy diet.

How: Register now and you’ll receive information and a link to access this private class.

Once you register you will be emailed a link that gives you access via your computer, phone, tablet or any other device. (Full disclosure… we’re learning how to do this as we go along so keep those fingers crossed!)

This presentation is brought to you by the plant based practitioners at Points of Origin, PLLC. Also known as, Peter Hanfileti, MD, Lisa Hanfileti, LAc and Cynthia Henson, where our motto is, “information CAN BE entertaining!”

We look forward to seeing you on the call!

If you have any questions or want to submit questions to Chef Del prior to the class (we already have a list of questions and requests, including a request for him to repeat his chocolate ‘pudding’ recipe!), just call our office at 360-449-4500 or email us any time.

Chef Del – How To Cut Cilantro With A SHARP Knife

When Chef Del shared his “Plant Based Journey To Optimum Health”, he also gave us some wonderful cooking tips. Here he jokes with Cynthia about her (dull) knives and why herbs like cilantro need to be cut a certain way with a SHARP knife.