Desert Health News - January-February 2025

what’s inside Natural Options East Meets West in Treating Shingles 8 Integrative Medicine Food is Love: Our Emotional Connection 15 Through the Generations “I Want to Grow Old at Home.” 19 Fresh Cuisine Gluten-free in Italy 22 Fitness Favs and Phenoms Tee it Up at The American Express 24 Desert Events Women + Wealth + Wellness Take Center Stage 25 Health & Beauty Strength, Balance, Peace: 3 Gifts of a Yoga Practice 21 Financial Health Ringing in the New Year: Financial Updates for 2025 20 Medical News Your Symptoms Are Helping You 3 http://www.deserthealthnews.com/ January/February 2025 Continued on page 18 Your Team To Fight Cancer (See page 14 for more) SKIP THE SCALPEL and THE FUTURE IS HERE! C e l e b r a t i n g Y e a r s ! A s humans, we like our world in order. We move forward in perpetual motion accomplishing tasks, making plans and watching all our hard workcome to fruition.Whenwe take time toappreciate it all, we often smile with a sense of inner peace and security. We feel warm, happy and in control. But what happens when the universe throws us curve balls that interrupt our best laid plans? Many of us jump into “fix it” mode. Frustration, disappointment and anger overpower our sense of peace and security and can cause us to react defensively. We yell at our computer and reply in all caps. We call the service provider and demand change. We have frank discussions with family members and move forward with a disgruntled sense of dissatisfaction. These negative feelings may last a day, or linger for long periods of time, and can leave us feeling that life is no fun. We all know that one thing we can count on is change. However, accepting that fact isn’t always easy. When you consider that we are one small peg in our interconnected universe, you start to question how much control we really have. Maybe this vantage point can start to shift our thinking and we can begin to see unwanted interruptions as opportunities to expand our thinking. Instead of reacting with conviction that your plan is the only plan, maybe pause to look for the silver lining and see that something more might be unfolding. Fifteen years ago, I had an idea for a health publication and enthusiastically called someone who could easily make it happen. When he didn’t return my calls, I became frustrated, decided to do it myself, and Desert Health was born. I recently met him for the first time and thanked him profusely. Next time your perfect world starts to tilt, remember the words of author and educator Charles R. Swindoll, “Life is 10 percent what happens to you, and 90 percent the way you react.” Editorial by founder/publisher Lauren Del Sarto And so it is. C oachella Valley High School (CVHS) is the first school in the valley to provide students with a Zen garden, a place of calm and a respite from daily stresses and distractions. The garden was officially unveiled on Nov. 20 and is an extension of the high school’s wellness center, one of seven in CVUSD. These wellness centers were implemented after Covid-19 in response to rising statistics of students experiencing depression, anxiety, andother issues impacting their attendance and behavior. Both the wellness centers and Zen garden were dreams of Biological Sciences Educator and Wellness Specialist Jason Tate, a biologist and Certified Functional Medicine Health Coach. He wantedstudentstohaveaspacewheretheyfeel seen, understood and safe, and can receive immediate support and tools for self-care strategies. He also wanted a designated place where they could pause, meditate and let go of daily stresses. Coordinator of Child Welfare for CVUSD Megan Choate Ramirez, M.Ed., who worked closely with Tate on the implementation of the wellness centers, shared, “Our program teaches students to be aware of their own mental and emotional states. They are taught to identify triggers that set off certain behaviors or emotional reactions, and coping skills and strategies to self-regulate once they’ve been triggered in order to get back to academics.” Since the wellness centers opened in 2021 and 2022, the district has seen a dramatic decrease in behavioral incidents, with suspensions dropping 59 percent at CVHS and an average of 55 percent across the district. “Students are also taught that asking for help in conflict resolution and repairing harm is part of social-emotional learning. Our recidivism rate has significantly dropped because they learn from their mistakes and aren’t repeating the same behaviors," adds Ramirez. Tate sees about 250 students a month at the CVHS wellness center. “It’s an open-door, open- arms, open-heart policy,” he says, adding that the Zen garden offers solidarity and a connection with nature. “I came to CVHS because there’s so much life here; all the trees and the birds, the beautiful views of the mountains. Having a safe, outdoor space for reflection is so important.” The Zen garden was custom built and professionally landscaped, everything within it carefully and intentionally planned by Tate. It has two large water features creating a calming soundscape, flagstones throughout and hand- CV High creates Zen garden for students and staff A Calm Space on Campus By Wendy Fink