We are like little plants, our health influenced by internal and external factors. We start like teeny seeds inside our mama’s tummy, and continue budding and growing in response to our internal and external environment as babies, toddlers, teens, through our reproductive years, and still into our mature years. The French say the qualities of wine are determined by the terroir – or landscape – in which it is embedded. It is the same for us – throughout all our life stages. When our terroir is not enriched with blossoms of physical and mental stimulation, fun and relaxation, lovely relationship support, nutritious food, healthy water, air, and sleep we will not be able to experience an easeful life. Geography, geology, climate, and tradition are the terroir that shape wine, and our mental and physical health and vitality. In medical terms, these influences are epigenetics. The way we influence genetic expression. And the home-base of natural medicine and functional medicine.

For human plants, our geography can be thought of as our physical and energetic anatomy. To address this, Dr. Caroline Peterson uses chiropractic adjusting, craniosacral therapy, lymphatic drainage, pelvic floor therapy, and visceral manipulation including the Barral technique and Maya Abdominal Therapy.

Geology is reflective of our nutrition, biochemistry, hormones, toxins, and microbiome. Dr. Caroline Peterson uses lab tests including standard bloodwork to check for blood sugar, anemia, nutritional deficiencies, and adequacy of organ function. She also uses specialty tests such as the Organic Acids Test (OATs) to check for how well your body uses nutrition, MAPs digestive stool test to check how well you are digesting food, a Methylation test to check if your body is able to make neurotransmitters and energy alright, and many other specialty Cyrex tests to check your immunity to food and other things outside you, and also checks for autoimmunity. Once Dr. Caroline sees where the problem lies, she will design a special nutritional program for you that could include diet and supplement changes. All this is part of functional medicine – seeing you as a whole – and knowing how to interpret the messages the body gives.

Climate is expressed through our emotional environment, stress, and vital life force energy. Dr. Caroline Peterson uses functional neurology and a mind-body therapy called neuro emotional technique (NET) to address this. Stress can come from inside our body when our body is not communicating properly with itself, or from outside when we are having challenges in relationship. Functional neurology is kind of like learning a foreign language. Once you know the language of the nervous system you can play with its relationships to help optimize internal stress that is expressed with challenges to movement, behaviors, and other body functions as basic as sleep, digestion, pooping, peeing, and having a baby. Neuroemotional technique (NET) is a form of functional neurology that helps us to address stress that originates outside of us. It helps to resolve stuck emotions and to manage relationships better.

Tradition has to do with our genetics, epigenetics, and ancestral influences on beliefs and energy. Tradition is, in part, passed down through the genes we inherit. Sometimes it is helpful to understand that inherited genetic template. For the patients who need or want this, Dr. Caroline Peterson recommends getting a membership to Genetic Lifehacks to learn how to interpret your genes. Genes have to be turned on to work and epigenetics flips the switch. Fortunately, even though we can’t control the epigenetics we were born into, we can rewrite them, and we can do our best to control our epigenetics going forward and the epigenetic environment we bring our children into. In that way we rewrite tradition and our terroir.

“The only journey is the one within”

~ Rainer Maria Rilke