by Jen Owen, N.P. | Aug 19, 2022 | Mind-Body Medicine
In the summer of 2021, I had been contemplating a way to bring together all of my knowledge and gifts in a way that I could help more people. I love being a healthcare provider, and what I love the most are the times when I get to help someone overcome whatever is holding them back. This might be a belief about themselves, an old thought pattern, judgement they’re putting on themselves, or a myriad of other blocks to feeling and living their best. Usually, the solution isn’t that complicated and when these blocks shift, life changes for good.
I set an intention to be shown how I could package deep transformations in a way that was accessible, affordable, and maybe even fun! I wanted to be able to present new ways of thinking and being in a way that was easy to learn and implement, while being able to offer personal support along the way. One day, after a long meditation, I understood exactly how to do this and my online program for women, The Flourish Way™ Experience was born.
This program has blown my mind. The members have shown up fully to do the work and support one another, and the transformations have been profound! One member realized her life purpose and is now starting her own business, while another got a promotion at her job. Several members report better communication in their relationships and more satisfying sex lives. Two members have overcome long-term anxiety and feel more secure knowing they have tools to handle it if it returns. Others report feeling more connected to themselves. They take more time for rest and self-care without feeling guilty. I could go on and on.
During these past few years with the pandemic, political unrest, and a general uncertainty for what the future holds, I’ve seen stress levels higher than ever before. Now more than ever, we need regular support. We need stress reduction techniques beyond yoga and chamomile tea. We need to understand ourselves, our reactions to all the noise, and how we can effectively live our best lives despite the chaos. This is what the program is all about.
If you’re not feeling happy and you feel like you “should” be happy, if you know your relationship and the intimacy with your partner could be more optimal, if you feel like you’re being constantly affected by the events of the world or the people in your life, if you feel like you just know there’s more for you….then The Flourish Way™ Experience program is for you.
This is a 12-week program where you’ll learn how to unwind and unlearn from all the stress and the patterns you’ve adapted to over the years. You’ll restore and replenish your energy, your vitality, and your connection with yourself. And finally, you’ll expand and emerge into a more full, satisfied, and aligned version of yourself. I knew these things would happen when we started and now after coaching the women in the group for a full year, I’ve seen it all come to fruition.
Registration is now open for the fall cohort of new members. The program will open for you on September 4 with our first online Zoom session on September 11. I will be limiting the number of participants, so if you know you’re ready to do things a new way in your life, please register soon. A substantial “early bird” discount is available until August 22.
Please reach out if we can answer any questions for you, otherwise, I look forward to being your guide.
Learn more and reserve your spot here.
~Jen Owen, N.P.
P.S Because we use my pelvic bowl healing techniques as one of the foundations of our work in the program, The Flourish Way™ Experience is open only to those born with female anatomy.
by Jen Owen, N.P. | Feb 17, 2022 | Mind-Body Medicine
It’s so easy to change yourself to fit the needs of others or to be who you think others want you to be. It’s kind of like being a chameleon.
Chameleons change their color to blend in with their habitats. They adapt to the climate around them to be undetected, fit in, and be more comfortable.
Humans do this, too.
How often have you participated in activities to fit in? For example, do you drink alcohol or eat sugar because “everybody’s doing it”?
Have you held your tongue and not spoken your truth for fear of upsetting others? This is happening so much in today’s political and social climates.
Do you stay in a job or avoid pursuing your dreams because it’s the “safe” thing to do?
When you act like a chameleon, you forget who YOU really are.
You lose touch with your own hopes, dreams, and wants for YOUR life.
You keep changing yourself over and over and over, and pretty soon, you forget what color YOU are.
One of the best tools I know for reconnecting with yourself is journaling.
Find a quiet moment and take some deep breaths.
Ask yourself these questions:
What do I really want?
Who do I really want to be?
What goals do I have that I’m not currently pursuing?
Where am I not speaking my truth?
Let the answers flow out onto the paper and write and write until it feels complete.
Then, take the main points and gather them into a few sentences.
Read these sentences out loud to yourself morning and night.
Please come back and share your story with me in the comments below or shot me an email.
What is your true color?
How does it feel when you return fully and completely to letting that color shine???
by Jen Owen, N.P. | Jan 6, 2022 | Mind-Body Medicine
What if instead of setting a weight loss goal, restricting calories, over-exercising, and any other form of self-punishment, you simply asked your body what it wants?
When I first starting getting personal and business coaching, this concept was introduced to me.
Frankly, I thought it was ridiculous.
I was all about the nutrients in food, getting the “right” amount of protein, restricting foods when a certain condition called for it, and all the other stuff based on scientific research and the experience of my mentors.
I’ve tried just about every fad diet out there…Whole 30, low-carb, candida cleanses, blood type diet, Weight Watchers, keto,…you name it, I’ve probably tried it. I’ve always had the rule that I won’t ask a patient to do anything I’m not willing to do (so, you’ll never have to worry about giving up coffee!).
None of them are sustainable and most of them have you working AGAINST your body and not WITH it.
Every day, I have a conversation with my patients that starts with, “Have you asked your body what it really wants?”.
Some of them look at me like I’ve lost it. Most are curious about what I mean.
Your body will tell you exactly what to eat, how to exercise, when to go to bed, and what to stop/start doing if you take the time to ask it. But, you have to actually do what it tells you to do.
Most of you are ignoring your body’s signals. You get a headache, so you take ibuprofen. Your stomach hurts, you take tums. You get a gut feeling not to go to an event and you go anyway. You know exercise is optimal for you, but you binge watch that new show instead. You get the idea.
Ignoring your body over and over again creates distrust. Your body stops signaling or signals so loud that you are forced to stop and notice. When the signals get crossed, you get discouraged and the cycle starts over again. Make sense?
The good news is that your body wants more than anything to support you. It’s striving to bring you back to balance at every moment. You CAN rekindle your relationship.
Simply start asking and then slow down long enough to hear the answer. When you feel hungry, don’t ignore this even if you’re busy. Go into the kitchen and ask your body, ‘What sounds really good?’. Wander around looking at the options and see which ones feel the best. Eat those. Do the same thing at the grocery store. Buy the things that look and sound amazing to eat.
At first, you may still think you want something sugary or salty and sometimes you still will. More often than not, you’re going to want veggies or fruit. My body often wants nut butters and avocados.
When you’re done with work each day, ask your body, ‘What sounds amazing to do next?’. Maybe it will be a nap or a walk or to call a friend. Do whatever your body says without questioning. You may be taking a nap every day for awhile.
Keep practicing. Your relationship with your body won’t heal overnight, but with persistent asking and listening, you’ll be surprised how much better you’ll feel and you won’t have to starve or suffer in the meantime!
Want more help with transformations like this? Come and see me at my Portland clinic.
by Jen Owen, N.P. | Dec 10, 2021 | Mind-Body Medicine
Mindset shifting is something I do every day for myself, my patients, and my coaching clients.
One of the basics of mindset work is first to understand what kind of mindset you operate under. In her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Carol Dweck, Ph.D. introduces us to the concept of Fixed versus Growth Mindsets.
A Fixed Mindset is when you believe your qualities are carved in stone. You might believe you have a certain amount of intelligence, a certain personality, and a certain character. Those in a Fixed Mindset tend to focus on proving themselves, on proving that what is certain about them is actually the concrete and only truth.
They are constantly evaluating themselves with questions like,
“Will I succeed or fail?”
“Will I look smart or dumb?
“Will I be accepted or rejected?”
Fixed Mindset people tend to play it safe, not taking risks for fear of failure or embarrassment.
On the opposite side, is the Growth Mindset.
When you operate under a Growth Mindset, you believe that your basic qualities are the things that you can cultivate through your efforts, your strategies, and from getting help from others.
You believe you can change and grow through application and experience. Growth Mindset people are willing to take risks and make mistakes, because they know whatever happens will present them with an opportunity to learn and grow.
They ask very different questions such as,
“Why waste time proving over and over how great you are, when you could be getting better?”
“Why hide deficiencies instead of overcoming them?”
“Why seek out the tried and true, instead of experiences that will stretch you?”
Growth Mindset people allow for what is possible and know that a person’s true potential is unknown. They go for it anyway!
So, what type of mindset is the basis for how you operate in the world?
Do you believe that you are “just how you are” and that things “are just this way”?
Or, do you believe things can be different for you?
Do you believe that with the right tools and support, you could change yourself and the course of your life?
What could be possible for you if you had a different mindset?
It’s honestly not that hard to shift your mindset. Once you establish a few new habits and routines and gain a deeper understanding of what mindset it most optimal for you, you can more easily reach your goals and intentions.
by Jen Owen, N.P. | Sep 10, 2021 | Mind-Body Medicine
Getting Comfortable with Joy
How comfortable are you with feeling joy?
I know that question might seem silly, and you may be thinking, ‘Of course I’m comfortable with feeling joy’.
The truth is that most of us aren’t.
From a young age, we’ve been doing things on our own, proving our worth with effort, and feeling like we have to cross one barrier after another.
We are comfortable with struggle and effort.
When things in our lives start to slow down, when we finally reach our biggest goals, when we have everything we’ve been wishing for, we often don’t know how to enjoy it all.
This was definitely true for me.
After a divorce, 2 nursing degrees, single motherhood, and maintaining a home with an acre of land on my own, things changed for me.
I found my life partner and I created the integrative practice of my dreams.
I had someone to help me care for my home, support me in motherhood, and help me with all the things it takes to own your own practice.
I had love and support from many angles and my patients were thriving.
I basically had, “it all”.
Yet, I found it hard to enjoy it. I couldn’t get comfortable with the joy.
I realized that my comfort was in struggle, effort, and proving myself.
When struggle is our norm, the brain receives its reward from more struggle. We feel good when we accomplish things, when we defeat odds, and when we get more done.
Reward doesn’t come from things like rest, play, pleasure, and joy.
When we want more joy, happiness, and satisfaction, we have to reward these things in big ways. We have to retrain our brains to look for more of these things rather the opposite .
If the only reward your brain gets is from struggle, you may be unintentionally creating more of it so that your brain feels safe and comforted.
If you want to get more comfortable with joy, you must reward yourself for it.
Relish in rest.
Delight yourself with pleasures when they come your way.
Savor every bite of delicious food.
Do more happy dances when things are feeling good.
Get used to good feeling emotions and allow them to flood your being.
If you want more joy in your life, you literally have to allow it.
You have to make it comfortable.
Schedule an appointment now or consider joining my signature, transformational program, The Flourish Way™ Experience for guidance on feeling more joy in your life!
by Jen Owen, N.P. | Aug 27, 2021 | Integrative Medicine, Mind-Body Medicine, Seasonal Health
For years, I’ve been checking hormone panels for females experiencing many different hormonal symptoms. Overall, the most common pattern I’ve seen is referred to as estrogen dominance. The estrogen level is normal while the progesterone level is low. This creates symptoms such as bloating, breast tenderness, low sex drive, headaches, irregular periods, decreased sex drive, mood swings, fatigue, trouble sleeping, weight gain around the abdomen and hips, foggy thinking & memory loss, and PMS.
This pattern often occurs when the person is experiencing a higher-than-normal stress level. Because progesterone naturally provides some of our cortisol (stress-managing hormone), during times of increased stress, the body will “steal” progesterone to make more cortisol.
I’m very used to seeing this and treating this.
What I’m not used to seeing is a pattern that has become quite prevalent over the past 1.5 years during the pandemic and other issues of these times.
In almost every hormone panel I’ve checked, another hormone is elevated: DHEA.
DHEA is short for dehydroepiandrosterone (D-hi-dro-epp-E-an-dro-ster-own), a hormone made by the adrenal glands located just above the kidneys. Of the more than 150 hormones made by the adrenal glands, the most abundant is DHEA. DHEA is generally converted into testosterone and estrogens.
Most of the time, when I check this hormone, it’s low. I’ve supplemented it many times in females to increase low testosterone and low estrogen.
Because DHEA is also produced from the ovaries, in the past I would see elevated DHEA associated with abnormal hair growth (think beard), acne, and PCOS.
Not now.
DHEA is appearing high across the board and not just a little high, it’s often double or triple the level it should be, without any of the usual and expected symptoms.
Now, this is not all bad news. Some studies suggest that DHEA may elevated as a counterbalance to elevated cortisol, so it’s likely a healthy adaptive response by the body.
At the same time, it means that the body is overloaded with stress hormones, and it’s working diligently to manage this and bring the body back to balance.
I’ve talked a lot about managing stress since COVID began. If you missed my previous posts, see the bottom of this page.
During the first year of the pandemic, I gave everyone a pass. I appreciate personally how hard it’s been to adapt to all of it; how challenging it’s been to eat right, find new ways to exercise, and avoid getting into negative habits to help manage our stress.
Now, we must face the reality that not much is likely to change anytime soon. We have to find ways to adapt, to manage our stress so that our bodies don’t take the toll from all of this.
We have to find new ways to experience joy, appreciation, love, and freedom.
When people come to see me, I can feel how much they want a quick fix to what they’re feeling. It’s frustrating to hear that stress is the underlying cause of their symptoms.
Yet, here we are and it’s been true for almost everyone I’ve seen.
The good news is that my stress-management toolkit is deep and when my patients implement the plans we develop together, they feel better.
Start with one thing…what’s the one thing that you could change in your life right now, that if you changed it, it would make a really big difference? Do that first and let it be for a few weeks. Then, work with the next thing. Trying to make a bunch of changes all at once simply creates more stress and likely, more DHEA.
If you’d like my help, schedule an appointment here.
Check out these articles to understand the stress response more fully and for more ideas of how to manage it:
Are You in Fight-or-Flight or Rest-and-Digest?
Self-Care for Stressed Times
Health Basics Check-in
Stop and Breathe…
How to Handle the Strain and Drain
My Top 5 Herb Choices for Stress
Exercise Can Be Fun
5 Tips to Protect Your Energy
Recent Comments