Why Naturopathic Medicine?
First Do No Harm
My job is to work in the best interest of the patient and keep them alive. While I aim to employ the least invasive method of treatment using safe and effective natural therapies, I’ll refer you out to a specialist if your stage or condition is beyond my scope of practice or if surgery or a pharmaceutical drug is deemed necessary.
Healing Power of Nature
The human body is intricately designed to have an innate ability to restore and heal itself. My job is to facilitate and enhance the healing process with a holistic, integrative, and natural approach through naturopathic medicine. Beyond the pharmaceutical aisle, medicine can be found in nature, in sunshine, in our plants, and in our food.
Identify and Treat the Cause
Treating symptoms is another form of suppression, which is like shutting off the body’s natural alarm system to let us know that something is wrong. Instead of treating the symptoms, my role as a doctor is to think like a detective, looking for clues and patterns to reveal and treat the underlying root cause.
Treat the Whole Person
You are more than just a condition or a number to me. In fact you are more than your disability, cancer diagnosis, or genetic makeup of your DNA. You are precious. You are loved. I promise to care about you as a whole person. My treatment plan will incorporate your mental & emotional picture as well as your physical health concerns.
Doctor as Teacher
My goal is to inspire, educate, and empower you to take charge of your life. We will work as a team, meaning that I will ask you to put in an honest effort into our doctor-patient relationship. Without your effort and determination to heal, I cannot heal you alone. After all, You are the master of your fate and the captain of your soul.
Prevention is the Best Cure
Nothing would give me greater joy than to motivate you to live a long, high-quality life where you can experience your kids’ every milestone and even watch your grandkids grow to blossom. Even if you’re genetically predisposed to certain condition(s), you can prevent or lessen the degree of it by choosing a healthy lifestyle.
“Every plant has a soul. It has its quirks, its light preferences, its medicinal benefits, and its very own essence. I will take your case and begin formulating a botanical formula made with love for you. My unique process of marrying ancient herbal wisdom with today's scientific knowledge on evidence-based botanical medicine engenders excellent results. Bottling it up, while catering to your needs and your very own essence, is my goal.”
— Dr. Sola
Dr. Sola’s Tools for Naturopathic Medicine
Botanical Herbs
Based on your diagnosis or condition, I’ll design a personalized botanical formula that is taken orally in a form of a pill, tincture, or tea. It’s up to you based on your preferences and taste. For dermatological conditions, a salve or poultice would be applied topically. I will choose professional-grade, organically-grown herbs that are harvested and properly executed from trusted herbal brands that form potent botanical medicine to ensure you quality > quantity.
Bach Flower Essences
In 1919 English physician and bacteriologist Dr. Edward Bach developed 38 flower essences, because he believed that flowers carry essences that can “gently restore the balance between mind and body” by removing negative emotions (i.e. fear, worry, jealousy, hatred, indecision, etc.). Similar to the idea of designing a signature fragrance with its unique perfume notes, I’ll create your signature flower formula or pick a rescue remedy that best fits your mental and emotional picture. Grown and harvested from Dr. Bach’s garden today, flower essences are safe and effective in children and pets as well. Whether your child lacks self-confidence or your cat is jealous of another pet, flower essences can work miraculously fast.
Clinical Nutrition
I don’t have to remind you, “You are what you eat.” I certainly don’t need to remind you that you need to lose weight. You may already know that. In fact I despise the word “diet” because it has the word “die” in it. While I do agree with your doctors that losing weight is one of the most effective ways to improve lab results and overcome a diagnosis, I want to teach you how to eat and pick your foods. Let’s go shopping together. Let’s learn how to pick recipes that fit your budget and taste buds. Let’s learn how to choose the right ingredients and learn the joys of cooking. This is the best way to maintain a sustainable and attainable lifestyle goal.
Emotional Counseling
The most important skill that a doctor can embody is the ability to listen. With extra training in counseling and even couples counseling, I have truly been privileged to learn about people at their core. Who they are, what they do, how they feel seen in the world, from their fears to their dreams, we are made up of our emotions. Some people are very much in tune with their emotions, while others are not. Some feel them, but are unable to express them, while others have them and don’t know how to control them. Emotions can make or break us in the home, at our work, and inside our mind. I believe that talking about your emotions can be just or even more effective than taking a pill to silence or shut your mind off. Emotions are truly fascinating in how it manifests themselves through our bodies. Certain conditions make me wonder why the person would even get such a diagnosis. Sometimes, it clues me in to understand their thoughts about themselves that stemmed from childhood. Whether they were told as children that they were not _____ enough or whether we created these false perceptions or stories about ourselves that eventually hurt us, I truly believe that the body never forgets its trauma that it receives and trauma can be embedded in certain organs or muscle tissues, causing psychosomatic illnesses.
Biofeedback
Becoming aware of one’s breath and proprioception, I will teach you how to react to stress and listen to your body. From years of practicing yoga and working at 3 yoga studios, I have learned how important it is to practice mindfulness in every aspect of my life. In addition to my Biofeedback training and clinical shifts, I can teach you techniques to battle insomnia, anxiety, or depression while learning to recognize your triggers before the episode starts.
Gemmotherapy
Developed in the late 1950s by a Belgian homeopath Dr. Pol Henry, gemmotherapy utilizes the idea of stem cell therapy. Widely used in France, gemmotherapy (aka phytoembryotherapy) uses plant hormones and enzymes needed for germination from plant bud extract and other embryonic plant tissues such as very young shoots, rootlets, and the inner bark. With 60 established gemmos to pick from, we’ll safely address any chronic condition(s) by choosing the right gemmo(s) for you. Whether you’re a man looking for sexual virility or a woman looking to balance her hormones, these delightfully sweet-tasting gemmos will tonify, strengthen, and restore any human body system on a physical and mental level.
Lifestyle Counseling
I believe that life is about balance. It’s not just about wealth, because if you lose track of your health, you’ll no longer have that time to enjoy spending your wealth. In my lifestyle counseling sessions, we will go over every aspect of your life, discovering your past, your present, and your future goals. We’ll go over these main 12 aspects of your life: your health/fitness, intelligence, emotions, character, spiritual/religious beliefs, love life, parenting, social life, financial life, career, quality of life, and your life vision. Once you identify and understand what you want in life and know your road map and destination, you can then plan on attaining your goals and dreams.
Environmental Medicine
Home is where the heart is. Understanding where and how you live at home tells me a lot about a person. Is your home a safe and sacred place to nourish and replenish your body, mind, and soul? How chaotic, unorganized, or dusty is your home that it leads your mind to a similar state? How is this affecting your allergies or other health concerns? Who is in your home that is affecting your happiness? How can we change that environment? How can we create a space that is safe for your children and pets? If you have insomnia, I would like to address how your bedroom is set up for an ideal place to sleep. If your home needs a “facelift,” I would show you how art and plants work to liven up a space and breathe life into your home, picking certain plants that are natural air filters. If you’re experiencing chemical sensitivities or recent asthmatic symptoms, I would ask about recent remodeling or how old your house is. As I find interior decorating and feng shui to be powerful tools in designing one’s home and using natural elements such as stone or wood in certain places, I would love to explore what your mental obstacles are and remove those obstacles to cure. Whether that’s starting in your favorite room in the house, let’s explore how we can organize your space and turn a house into a functioning home.
Supplements
Whatever you’re dealing with, there is a deficiency that could wreak havoc on your body on a cellular level. Your body may be deficient in a certain vitamin, mineral, or enzyme. Since supplements are not FDA-regulated and I don’t trust grocery store-bought supplements, I will provide you with my expertise on dosage from professional-grade, trusted supplement companies that ensure that each batch of supplements carries the real deal in order to be highly effective.
Cell Salts
Developed in the late 1800s by a German physician Dr. William H. Schuessler, there are 12 known biochemical cell salts that work on a cellular level, addressing any essential mineral deficiency to restore cellular health and function. By satisfying mineral imbalances in the body, they work by stimulating the body’s natural healing process. As an effective and safe modality, they can relieve many physical symptoms without the adverse effects of modern medicine. Cell salts are used in children, adults, elderly, and even pets. Because they are absorbed directly into the bloodstream through osmosis, they are a good choice for minor acute symptoms such as a fever, a pimple, or a toothache. Great for athletes who desire optimal muscle healing.
Physical Medicine
While I cannot utilize my knowledge and practice of manual manipulation here in Louisiana, I understand how muscles, bones, and fascia work. I understand the limitations of our body. That being said, I have experience working as the Rehabilitation specialist and doing physical therapy. Combining my dance and yoga experiences, I will teach you some exercises to do at work and home to maintain a correct posture and correct your body from having to overcompensate for an injury or spinal condition. My goal is to make sure you’re not idle. Movement is the key to keeping your muscles alive and your blood pumping in every aspect of your body.
Hydrotherapy
Life is non-existent without water. We need clean water to drink, to shower or bathe in, and to rinse our food. The use of hydrotherapy dates back into ancient civilization when Egyptian royalty would bathe in flowers and essential oils. In Asia geishas would frequently bathe in hot springs to maintain beauty through a youthful look as the ritual of bathing in mineral-rich hot spring water was their secret to the “fountain of youth.” Current research has shown that living near or seeing a body of water lowers anxiety and depression. There’s something healing about water that is innate in people, even in animals. In the 1800s Austrian physician Dr. Vincent Preissnitz observed how wildlife would cure their injury through water immersion. Later, he became a famous and successful doctor by pushing for drinking large quantities of water as part of his treatment plan. The father of hydrotherapy is a German priest Sebastian Kneipp, who cured himself of tuberculosis during a time when it was deemed incurable by immersing himself in water. As hydrotherapy is popularly known today for its use of spas/saunas, Korean bathhouses, Russian banyas, etc, it is effectively used to circulate the blood throughout the body, boost the immune system, alleviate headaches and body aches, and stimulate the body’s ability to heal itself.