Just discovered in 2012, irisin is exciting the science community with questions about its role in our bodies. Named after Iris, the Greek messenger to the gods, it’s called the feel good hormone, or the exercise hormone. As reported recently in The New York Times, research with mice has shown that irisin, released during exercise, works to activate brain cell growth and may counteract the beta amyloid growth associated with Alzheimer’s disease. And while there is plenty of research showing that exercise increases bone density, new studies indicate that it may be irisin that is driving the change. This could lead to new advances in the treatment of osteoporosis.

Dear Readers: Missed an article? Here’s a quick round up of some of our favorites from this month! As always, we look forward to presenting you with up to date news and information about holistic…

For the smallest month on the calendar, February looms large in my mind. It is, on the East Coast anyway, the deepest, darkest, bitterest part of winter. The Scandinavian side of me, wise to seasonal depression long before there was a named disorder for it, wants to stay in and drink glogg and distract myself from putting my head in the oven. I count down the days until pitchers and catchers report, so I can imagine them playing on warm green fields in spring training. I plan trips to deserts or beaches or anyplace more equatorial than New York…

Acupuncture/acupressure is an ancient system of healing developed over thousands of years as part of the traditional medicine of China, Japan and other Eastern countries. The practice of acupuncture is thought to have begun with the discovery that the stimulation of specific areas on the skin affects the functioning of certain organs of the body, and that there exists currents of energy that flow in distinct patterns throughout the body called meridians. The belief and experience has been that when these currents of energy are flowing smoothly, there is health, when any of these currents are blocked there is pain and disease.

Falling in love is never a straight line to “happily ever after.” Relationships go through seasons of change, renewal, darkness, and light. So promises long-time therapist and couple’s coach Linda Carroll in Love Skills: The Key to Unlocking Lasting, Wholehearted Love, which offers specific, effective solutions to the most common struggles that couples face. We hope you’ll enjoy this except from the book.

I was very impressed when I read Dawson Church‘s book, Mind to Matter. I had first learned about EFT, the Emotional Freedom Technique, several years ago, even practiced it for awhile, but had lost interest and moved on. Reading this book brought it back in an invigorating new way. Like acupuncture and acupressure, EFT is a set of finger tapping techniques which utilize the body’s energy meridian points.

When most people think about getting into shape, they’re really thinking about losing body fat. Reducing your body fat can have endless benefits for your physical health and mental well-being and can even help you…

If you’re one of the thousands of people who have experienced the unexplainable – a near death experience, an out of body moment, a vision, or other extraordinary phenomena that has changed your life – then you know that it can be difficult to share that experience with others, or even fully understand it your self. Fortunately, there are resources now that can help. One of the best is ACISTE, the American Center for the Integration of Spiritually Transformative Experiences.

Hi – for anyone who knows or does not know our story…we are here to tell you how we got here and why we created Synergize and Thrive Health Coaching. We all have unique stories and journeys we travel, but we feel ours is a bit different. We are just small town girls from the same town that were born on the same day. We always had a mirroring effect towards one another growing up and did not realize how similar we were until we were much older. We just “balanced” each other out…