Relax, Heal, and Renew at the Graf Center for Integrative Medicine [dedicated]

Anyone else feel like December is hitting particularly hard this year? If so, the doctors and staff at the Graf Center for Integrative Medicine at Englewood Health want to remind you to celebrate, meditate, and breathe. Not necessarily in that order. And, if you're feeling like those are things you don't really have the time for right now, let us remind you that caring for yourself and managing your stress is the very best gift you can give both to yourself and to your family.

Stress, especially during the holiday season, can have a negative impact on our sleep, nutrition, physical fitness, and emotional well-being. That's why the practitioners at the Graf Center for Integrative Medicine, under the direction of Tracy Scheller, MD, provide their patients with the kinds of programs and know-how that lead to adapting healthier life-long habits–habits that will provide tremendous support during all the high-stress times in your life. Some of their evidence-based service offerings include acupuncture, therapeutic massage, holistic nutrition counseling, Reiki, smoking cessation, yoga, meditation, and stress management.

Sure, okay, sounds great. But what can all that stuff really do for you? Acupuncture treatments have been proven to manage symptoms for a range of health issues, including stress and anxiety, fatigue, headaches and migraines, chronic pain, and weight loss. A healthy diet–where "diet" means enjoying the food you put in your mouth, not lamenting the food you deprive yourself of–not only gives you the energy and stamina to get through the day, but also helps support and heal you in the event you are diagnosed with an illness. Learning to give up bad habits (looking at you, smokers) will improve the quality (and hopefully increase the longevity) of your life, not to mention putting dollars back in your pockets.

In the New Year, the Graf Center will host events covering these topics and others to start you down the path to holistic wellness (and help you stick to those resolutions!). Here are a few highlights:

• January 5: Acupunture for Dieting and Cravings

Learn how acupuncture can help you meet your weight-loss goals.

• January 6: Eat SMART: Gearing Up for 2022

Choose goals that are specific, measurable, attaintable, realistic, and timely to work toward positive changes that can become long-term habits.

• January 11: Pack It Up: Learn to Live a Smoke-Free Life (4-Session Virtual Series)

This virtual group smoking cessation program, led by a licensed clinical social worker certified through the American Lung Association Freedom from Smoking® program, will provide support and teach you strategies to commit to quitting smoking.

Check out the Graf Center's full event calendar to find a program that's right for you.

The benefits of the integrative medicine approach include, as Dr. Scheller says, "using conventional and complementary therapies to develop a plan for healing the whole person." So step away from that to-do list and sign yourself up to start 2022 off right.

As always, your safety comes first at the Graf Center. All necessary precautions to prioritize your health have been implemented.

For more information about integrative medicine and the Graf Center for Integrative Medicine at Englewood Health, visit englewoodhealth.org/graf. The Graf Center accepts most insurance plans for integrative medicine consults with Dr. Scheller, acupunture treatment, and nutrition consults for some diagnoses.