A path to feeling, looking and being well

Warwick — Most everyone looks at the new year as a time to get things in order — our bodies, our homes and workspace, our finances. The Source of the Healing Arts offers a number of modalities that can help get you going on a more harmonious road. Nutrition Anyone who attempts to lose weight or just to eat healthier can tell you education is the key. People have to know what they are eating and the effects food has on their bodies. Janine Killeen is a registered dietitian/nutritionist and certified diabetes educator. She has been part of the Warwick community for more than 20 years, helping individuals and families meet their nutritional needs. “Nutritional healing and integrative modalities is what I try to use as tools in my professional practice whether it is weight management, diabetes education, eating disorder behaviors, pediatric developmental delays, cholesterol health, or overall human wellness,” said Killeen. “Foundation diet is one key to feeling your best.” Killeen has a great interest in supplements — how they are used to enhance the diet and prevent or aide existing disease states. “As a team member at the Source of the Healing Arts, I feel very strongly about supplying the public with the most accurate, research-based information regarding diet and dietary supplements for optimal health throughout the life cycle, in a field that can sometimes be very confusing,” she added. Killeen’s goal is to make good nutrition an easy choice, weeding through the trends and rumors to give good, sensible advice. “Individualized meal planning and exercise planning for your health and wellness needs is my focus to make life on the healthy tract a bit easier,” said Killeen. Alexander Technique “We can throw away the habits of a lifetime in a few minutes if we use our brain.” So says Frederick Matthias Alexander, a Shakespearean actor who developed a hands-on teaching method that encourages the body’s processes to work more efficiently as a whole. Alexander gave birth to the Alexander Technique, a simple and effective way to learn how to move with greater efficiency and ease, improving the over-all use of ourselves including breathing, kinesthetic awareness, and the improvement of balance. Through gentle, hands-on guidance, a teacher helps to restore natural coordination, freeing the body and mind to work in harmony. “In learning how to pay attention to ourselves, we can discover new ways to respond to the world around us, revitalizing ourselves through daily life rather then being drained by it,” said Elizabeth Reese, a certified teacher of the Alexander Technique and a member of the American Society for Alexander Teachers. “The Technique has become a vital part of training for many athletes and performers around the world as well as an essential tool in the assistance of our everyday lives.” Lessons consist of being guided through simple movements including sitting, standing, walking, and learning constructive rest lying down on a table. Reese, with a gentle touch, helps to release habits of compression, restoring a natural poise. Lessons last between 45-50 minutes. Reese recommends a series of lessons in order to integrate the work into the student’s life. Alexander observed that the relationship between the head, neck and torso is primary in controlling posture, movement, and function. Compressive movement habits interfere with the function of the body’s ingenious design, Reese said. Clinical studies have shown that the Technique improves breathing capacity and posture, modifies stress responses and is, for those who suffer from chronic pain, the preferred method for long-term pain relief. The Alexander Technique is taught as part of many performing arts schools including New York University, Julliard, The Actor’s Studio, Manhattan School of Music, Stratford Shakespeare Festival, and the Royal College of Music. Reese has been a student of the work since 1981 as a dancer/choreographer in New York City, and then trained to be a teacher from 1991-94 at the American Center for the Alexander Technique. She is also an avid dressage rider, the artistic director and producer of the Warwick Arts Festival, and a mom. Feng Shui Once your body is in order, now it’s time to get your space in order as well. That’s where Tara Jordan comes in. She specializes in Feng Shui. “I have been studying and helping people with my Feng Shui analysis for over 10 years,” said Jordan. “It is my second love to my children/family. I started doing this to help out friends and family before it became as recognized as it is today.” The results were amazing — as her family and friends got results, the more their friends and family wanted her to do the same for them. That’s when Jordan started her business, “Designs for Balance.” Now, Jordan works mainly here in New York and New England, and in Georgia. “You need a healthy surrounding to enable other aspects of your life. Your health is reflected in your Feng Shui layout of your home,” she said. “I am able to come into a home and increase the positive energy and eliminate the negative energies that are throughout a home.” Jordan said the home/environment should have a nice flow of energy so your health, good fortune, vitality, relationships, and many other areas of your life are full of positive flow. Her work is respected by Realtors, which, she said, helps to sell their houses 80 percent faster and for more money. Jordan first does a complete analysis of the home’s layout, elements, and a person’s personal compass. She personally walks through the home with the client and talks about each room and its energy. When she is finished, she will present the client with a full packet of individual information including analysis on each room, the outside of the house, and a floor plan with guidelines to a healthy and wealthy life. Jordan has helped people deal with sleeping disorders, relationship issues, careers, education, and finances, just to name a few. And it’s not just personal homes Jordan helps with. She also provides advice for businesses as well. This spring, Jordan plans to launch her Web site, www.designsforbalance.com, where clients may send their information and Jordan will give them the proper tools for self-application to Feng Shui their home. “I really love helping people and seeing them satisfied,” said Jordan. “Feng Shui allows me to feel complete as I assist people with strengthening themselves and their surroundings.” For more information on Feng Shui, nutrition, the Alexander Technique or any of the modalities offered by The Source of the Healing Arts, call 986-1977 or check the Web site (www.sourceofhealingarts.com).