Welcome back to Active Life Health Clinic's December newsletter.

     Hard to believe that we’re in the midst of holiday prep time!  If you’re like me, it has crept up on you and you’re finding it hard to believe that it’s nearly 2008.

    In lieu of mailing out Christmas/holiday cards to all my patients this year, I have opted instead to donate money to a great cause.  Read below to find out what worthy causes I have chosen and my reasons why.

    If you would like ideas on what gifts to get your friends, family, coworkers, and other people to whom you’d like to show your appreciation, then check out my suggestions below.

Have a safe, happy, and healthy holiday season!

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Helping you help yourself! My goal: To work in partnership with you to bring you to your optimal health. My focus: Ongoing health, not just temporary relief. This is active health.

Meaningful and Healthy Gifts

First I would like to say thank you to all my patients and people who have supported me in my practice, as without you I could not do what I truly love to do.  In appreciation I have decided that instead of mailing out Christmas cards I would do both the environment and a couple of very worthy causes a favour and do donations instead.

The first donation is to YouthAIDS.  I have had the joy and priveledge of working on Ashley Judd for the last little while, but only just recently learned of her hard work and dedication to YouthAIDS and Five and Alive, charities of Population Services International.  Ashley acts as International Ambassador for YouthAIDS, travelling around the world to bring global awareness and to be hands on with the local communities.  I really connect with the fact that this organization pushes prevention and education, just as I do in my clinic.  I have been witness to Ashley's efforts to help others--offering of herself to both friends and strangers.  She displays a passion for helping those who feel they may not be able to do much to help themselves.  Again, she reminds me of my own personal duty to help others help themselves, so talking with her has shown me another way to do that.  If you too would like to donate to this charity, go to www.youthaids.org,  fiveandalive.org, or www.psi.org.

The second donation is to my "old stand by", the David Suzuki Foundation.  My parents recently returned from a work/play trip to Australia and New Zealand and one of the souvenirs my dad brought back for himself is a photography book and DVD called "La Terre Vue Du Ciel" (Earth from Above).  If you like photography and/or travel, you'd love the book too!  One quote stuck with me.  To translate and paraphrase, it read...It is blue; It is beautiful; But above all, it is small;  And we won't leave it (referring to the earth).  Another reminder to me that we are very lucky to have this beautiful place to live and we should do everything we can to protect our environment.  Don't forget that in this season of consumerism.  Re-use Christmas-past gift bags and paper, or better yet, try making your own wrapping with magazines, comics, or beautiful material (the Japanese call this furoshiki).  To donate to the David Suzuki Foundation, go to www.davidsuzuki.org.

FOR THOSE TANGIBLE GIFTS:

   FOR THE HEAT SEEKER

    Know someone who’s always cold? 

• Hot Scarf (various colours to choose from) $28
• 2 Hot packs (one time use, but when you shake them they stay warm for 12 hours) $6
• Crystal Salt Tea Light (just looking at it makes you feel warmer) $8

• Deluxe Heat Seeker gift: Moist heat far infrared heating pad $99

 
FOR THE STUDENT

• Pay Attention Smell This Aromatherapy roll-on $10
• EFAPlex oil (feed the brain with essential fatty acids!) $30

• Deluxe Student gift: Nutrition Consultation gift certificate (I was a student once—well, more than once—and I know that eating healthy was a real challenge then) $90

• Pull Yourself Together Smell This Aromatherapy roll-on $10
• Emergen-C box (energizing, immune-boosting vitamin packs in lemon-lime, tangerine, or lite flavours) $25
• Spirulina Powder (sometimes you simply don't have enough time to eat properly and get all your veggies, so here's a quick and easy solution) $32

• Deluxe Busy Go-Getter gift: Office onsite acupuncture treatment gift certificate $100 (new patient), $80 (return patient)

  
    FOR THE YOGA OR MEDITATION ENTHUSIAST

• Haven Smell This Aromatherapy roll-on $10
• Crystal Salt Lamp $24
• Rasa CD (now my favourite relaxation/meditation/acupuncture treatment CD) $20

• Deluxe Yoga or Meditation Enthusiast gift: Acupuncture gift certificate $90 (new patient) or $70 (return patient)

FOR THE PERSON WHO CAN'T AFFORD TO GET SICK

• AH CHOO Smell This Aromatherapy roll-on $10
• EO hand sanitizer $5
• Flu Stop throat spray $20

• Deluxe Can't Afford to Get Sick gift: Heaven Fresh 300 square foot air purifier $80

    FOR THE PARTY BOY/GIRL

• Last Night’s Cure Smell This Aromatherapy roll-on $10
• Detox Foot Patches $20

• Deluxe Partier gift: 6 sauna sessions $130, 10 sauna sessions $200 (detoxify from the celebrations)

These earrings were designed by a patient of mine who choses the beads and stones based off of both their beauty and their significance.  If you would like to give a unique and meaningful present, then here it is.  Come to my clinic to choose yours.

And finally, let us know your birthday
so we can email you a birthday card and gift at the right time!