Spring is here and nature beckons to us to enjoy it. It’s not coincidental that we celebrated Earth Day on April 22nd. We are made from earth and to earth our bodies will return. We were meant to be in touch with nature. In fact Dr. Will Cole, a functional medicine expert and one of our faculty at RISE, tells us that by making a conscious effort to reconnect with the earth we can experience the wide range of health benefits that go hand in hand with spending time in nature. Dr. Cole shares with us 8 ways to do this:

1. Try forest bathing
Known as shinrin-yoku in Japan, forest bathing and spending time in nature has been shown to help lower stress hormones like cortisol, calm inflammation levels, and improve a variety of other biomarkers involved in overall health. Since most of us can’t spend hours hiking every day, I recommend carving out 10-15 minutes of uninterrupted time outside. For me, I take a walk during lunch without my phone or any other distractions. Even...

Try this incredibly tasty and hearty lentil soup full of delicious plant-based protein from Chef Sally Cameron. Choose between Instant Pot or Stovetop as your preferred cooking method and garnish with your heart’s content - yum! And for more incredible recipes check out all the goodness from Chef Sally at A Foodcentric Life. 

Click here to view the recipe. 

"You are what you eat.” This common phrase couldn’t be more true, but not in the way you might think. More accurately, the phrase should be “You are what your microbiome eats.” The trillions of bacteria and yeast in your gastrointestinal tract are fueled by the food you eat on a daily basis and it can dramatically affect aspects of your health beyond digestion including your immune system, brain, and hormones.

In today's Motivation Monday, leading functional-medicine expert Dr. Will Cole walks us through some key insights on improving our gut health, focusing on 5 amazing foods that significantly impact healing.

“In my telehealth functional medicine clinic, I have worked with thousands of patients on their gut health journey. And the interesting thing is, many people who come to me are actually doing all the “right” things but still struggle with gut problems. But the deeper I dive into their case, I see the problem.

Since every...

Like most of you, we are brokenhearted by the recent events in our nation. As we take a collective pause as a country of how we can best move forward to bring healing, we are reminded that the healing needs to start with us…
 
…to come back to our own lives and make sure that peace and harmony are reigning there. 
 
It’s our prayer that we can fully embrace our true call to love – with a love that never fails…
 
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” - John 13:34-35

As we seek to love as God designed us to, we wanted to share a segment of a prayer for healing and hope from Pastor Rick Warren…

“Father, 

We know that this is not the world that you planned. This is not the world that you want it to be.

We have lived self-centered...