One of Dr. Connie's Favorite Places to Muse is at the Pacific Naturopathic Retreat Center in Hawaii

Wherein Does 

Your Security Lie?

Each one of us is inexorably aging. Patients in their early thirties and forties often tell us that they suppose they feel the way that they do because they are getting old. Those patients who wouldn't otherwise be worried about their own aging worry because they see their parents aging, and generally facing issues that they themselves do not want to face.

The thought of aging tends to have negative connotations and to provoke fear. We think of wrinkles and hair loss; physical, mental and financial problems; loss of memory; loss of independence. We fear what life may be like when we can no longer function in the ways in which we have become accustomed.

My mother, at 91, after 6 years of being cared for in my sister's home, is now living in a full time care facility in a state of advanced Alzheimer's disease. We have made end of life decisions for her, including "comfort care only" for the past 6 months. We occasionally see a glimmer of recognition in her eyes, and she maintains her sweetness through all the indignities she suffers. She lives in a world we cannot access, but we take comfort in seeing her with no apparent awareness of physical cares and concerns.

Dr. Connie and her mom, Mary Alice Sutherland

As naturopaths, it is always in our minds that optimizing our health now will help prevent problems in the future, and forestall many of the conditions that might land us in a similar situation.  At a current cost of $7,500 per month for long term care, we have also been impressed with the need to secure long term care insurance for ourselves in the event that we should find ourselves in such a situation in the future. Many long term care policies allow for home care by qualified personnel, allowing elders to stay in home or communal situations.

Dr. Marcel and his father, Marcel Hernandez-Llopis

Dr. Marcel's father is cared for in a private home by our community of friends on the Big Island of Hawaii, and will celebrate his 99th birthday next month. He has found his security in integration into this loving and nurturing community that values the presence of an elder in their lives. It is often said that it takes a village to raise a child. I say that it takes a village to transition an elder. 

Spiritual community offers even greater security. In ages past, it was common for women to retire to nunneries to turn inwards after a life of external involvement. Modern times require many more years of involvement in the external world. Balancing that external involvement with spiritual practices in our early years, and deepening those practices as we disengage from the affairs of the world, whether by choice or by necessity, helps us identify more with unchanging spiritual reality, and less with the ever changing reality of physical form. Spiritual community supports our identity as beings of spirit.  Now there's security!

Basic Anti-Aging Nutrients

Connie Hernandez, N.D.

The older we get, it seems, the more we need to pay attention to the care and maintenance of our bodies.

It can all become so complicated, deciding what supplements to take on a daily basis. Patients come in to the clinic with bags of well-researched supplements, all of which make perfect sense.  It doesn't make sense, however, to swallow handfuls of pills without knowing whether they are really necessary, or whether they are actually doing what it is that they are supposed to be doing. 

We can evaluate supplement protocols through our subjective experience, and through more objective laboratory values.  Three month trials of various protocols can be evaluated through conventional laboratory testing, intracellular nutrient testing, lipoprotein particle profiles, salivary adrenal and hormonal testing, breast thermography and other methods. 

Ideally, we would all be living in pristine environments, eating organic locally grown foods from rich soils and wild sources. In that world, very little else would be necessary. In this world, foods are often not replete with nutrients, and environmental pollutants further deplete our bodily resources.

The most glaring deficiencies I see are of the omega-3 fatty acids, found in vegetarian sources such as flax and hemp and pumpkin seeds, and in walnuts. The active essential fatty acids EPA and DHA are not found in these sources, but are found in fish such as salmon and in some algae sources. Supplementing with either the fish or algae sources of EPA and DHA is fundamental to maintaining good health as we age. If I were to choose one supplement, it would be an omega 3 supplement.

In addition to omega 3's, a multi vitamin multi nutrient formula is generally required. As we age, we tend to have lower stomach acid, a condition which inhibits the absorption of B6, B12, folic acid, calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D (among other things). Taking the multis with lemon water or raw organic apple cider vinegar can promote absorption. However, because of the great need for B12 and folic acid, we often resort to adding a sublingual of these nutrients.

Beyond these supplements, we can add in supplements which address specific conditions a person might have or wish to prevent. Be aware that many advertised supplements replicate each other, and while that's not bad for you, it may not be good for your pocket book. One of the services we provide at Pacific Naturopathic is a review and consolidation of supplements that you are taking.  If you feel confused, come on in, and we'll try to simplify your protocol for you.

Find out more about Dr. Connie's consulting services at:  

Aging Gracefully on 

the Road to Mahasamadhi 

I used to think that when I finally left my body, I wanted it to be during the night while I slept so I wouldn't have to deal with pain, suffering and a stream of visitors coming to bid adieu to a desiccated, old carcass. Just poof! and it would be over. That was the old concept.  

Then the great Indian sage, Paramhansa Yogananda, entered my life and I learned the meaning of the term "mahasamadhi."  Samadhi is a meditative state that is achieved when the consciousness of the meditator merges with God. It is through samadhi that the meditator gains God Realization and enlightenment.  Mahasamadhi (the final samadhi) is the act of consciously and intentionally leaving one's body at the time of death to merge with the Divine. That is how Yogananda did it and that's what I wanted, too. 

Then I realized that for me to have a mahasamadhi experience, I would need to be as healthy as I could be when the time approached so the aches and whines of my old body were not a distraction.  And even if my body's complaints tried to distract me, I wanted to be strong enough spiritually to maintain a powerful meditative focus so I could experience the bliss of reunion with the cosmic consciousness.  So at this point, my two-pronged approach is to attune as closely as I can with my highest vision, that which I know to be true in every pore of my being, and to keep this body in the best shape possible.  

In my role as a naturopathic doctor I tell my patients that the choice of a spiritual path is a unique and individualized decision. There are many paths to Self Realization, many "rays of the one light." Studies have confirmed that serious illnesses have better outcomes and are emotionally easier to deal with when there is an upward focus. My own personal experience has proven this to be true as well. 

As naturopathic doctors, Dr. Connie, Dr. Corrine and I are absolutely dedicated to our patients' health on spiritual, mental/emotional and physical planes of being.  We are tirelessly and consciously working to hone our understandings of energetic medicine, human biochemistry, physical observation, and the many diverse factors that can play a part in restoring and maintaining balance.  We are ever on the alert for new methods of insight and evaluation and tools that will help sustain vitality and joy both in ourselves and the people who come into our lives.

For example, a couple of years ago Dr. Connie attended an orchid flower essence workshop in Scotland.  Her gleanings from this seminar have helped her restore energetic balance and transform the lives of many of her patients.

In August, Dr. Connie and I had an opportunity to do something we have wanted to do for years -- study with Dr. Chi, a practitioner of Eastern Medicine who has helped popularize the art of tongue and fingernail analysis in the West.  Our mind expanding experiences with Dr. Chi are described in last month's (August) newsletter.

The outcome of our studies with Dr. Chi has been the development of new ways to gain insights into our patients' present and future health patterns -- new ways of staying vibrant and healthy as we walk the common paths of our lifetimes -- each path with the potential of a mahasamadhi.

Joy to you!

Yogananda's last smile.   His mahasamadhi followed shortly thereafter.

Find out more about Dr. Marcel's work with men at:

Rapid Pain Relief 

With Elijah Free

Elijah Free, MH, CMI, CMT  

To contact Elijah, please either call the clinic at 650-917-1121 or e-mail at [email protected].

Looking for a conscious, meaningful, caring gift for a birthday or special occasion? A gift certificate to a Pacific Naturopathic practitioner lets a special person know you really care about their well-being. 

Gift certificates for all practitioners and modalities offered at Pacific Naturopathic are available by phoning our front desk at 650-917-1121, or just stopping by.