Here's my newsletter for this week: 

Hi there.

As I was preparing for our hormone deep dive class on thyroid hormones earlier this week, I was poking around a bit to see what other practitioners had to say on the topic.

There's a certain subgroup of folks who publish videos and articles and posts about these topics with such confidence. They're so sure. Here's what's happening, and here's what you do about it.

It's easy to believe them.

In some ways, I wish I could.

But, I've been in practice for more than 15 years. I've studied a lot of physiology, and therefore, I know that a) in most cases we don't really know how the body works or how our herbs/foods are working in the body (or we only know part of the story), and b) even when some interventions work for most people, they don't work for all people.

It's complicated.

As an example, here's a graphic from a paper I was reviewing for the thyroid lecture:

Figure 4 from Nordio & Basciani, 2017

In this case, they're demonstrating how TSH levels changed after 6 months of taking a combination of myo-inositol & selenium in people who have subclinical hypothyroidism (and one person with hyperthyroidism 😂). Each line represents one participant in the trial (which, as a side note, did not have a control arm.)

It doesn't really matter what the intervention is, though. You'll see similar graphs for all kinds of things - Rx meds, herbs, supplements, etc. - that demonstrate the same pattern. 

They key point is that while most people had a decrease in TSH levels, and while averaging all these numbers showed a significant decrease in TSH over 6 months, there are some individuals who responded in the opposite way. A handful of folks - other than the hyperthyroid person at the very bottom - experienced no change or an increase in TSH.

Recommendations don't always work. People's bodies respond in weird & unexpected ways. Outside factors come into play. Folks are misdiagnosed. Labs are inaccurate. Some herbs suit some people and not others.

Which brings me to my main point: there's one philosophy that rests on you as a practitioner being someone who knows what to do. Having the answers.

There's another one that involves you being someone who knows what questions to ask and listening for the answers.

It's easy to get swept up in the first option if you don't consciously choose the second 💚

Take care,

Camille

This week's newsletter: 

I'm reading Verlyn Klinkenborg's excellent book Several Short Sentences about Writing.

One of the important insights in the book has to do with the practice of noticing.

He writes:

Most people have been taught that what they notice doesn't matter,
So they never learn how to notice,
Not even what interests them.
Or they assume that the world has been completely pre-noticed,
Already sifted and sorted and categorized
By everyone else, by people with real authority,
And so they write about pre-authorized subjects in pre-authorized language.

and

Noticing is about letting yourself out into the world,
Rather than siphoning the world into you.

What you notice is filtered through your own experience. Your noticings will be different than mine.

The idea is to be aware of what you notice, to sit with your noticings, and to let ideas emerge from there.

To me, this ties into the balance of creation versus consumption.

"Siphoning" is an excellent description for the time we spend consuming other people's thoughts, creations, and content.

Noticing is the first step, perhaps the precursor, to creating thoughts and work of our own.

The challenge is to practice bringing our noticings to the surface, giving them the time and space and attention.

I hope you notice something interesting today.

Take care,

 Camille

Newsletter this week: 

Hi there. 

The weather has been absolutely, positively top-notch here in Virginia lately. 

It's sunny and warm, there's a gentle breeze, the dogwoods are flowering, and my first iris bloomed yesterday 💛 

This kind of weather means it's time for my periodic reminder that when you work for yourself, it's absolutely acceptable to take the afternoon (day! week!) off to enjoy being outside if you want to.

Yes, it's good to have a schedule of some sort. And also, one of the big benefits of working for yourself is that you get to go for a walk or play in the garden or read a book in the grass at the park at 2 pm sometimes.

What's the point in all of it if you can't enjoy a perfect day? 

Anything on your computer will still be there when you come back. 

So, here's your permission slip to step away from the computer and get outside when those warm spring days come along.

Take care, 

Camille 

@Anastasia Salichou

My newsletter this week: 

I read this quote by David Wong on Austin Kleon's blog post "A willingness to be bad" this week (highly recommend the entire blog post, by the way): 

Every adult I know — or at least the ones who are depressed — continually suffers from something like sticker shock (that is, when you go shopping for something for the first time and are shocked to find it costs way, way more than you thought). Only it’s with effort. It’s Effort Shock.

We have a vague idea in our head of the “price” of certain accomplishments, how difficult it should be to get a degree, or succeed at a job, or stay in shape, or raise a kid, or build a house. And that vague idea is almost always catastrophically wrong. Accomplishing worthwhile things isn’t just a little harder than people think; it’s 10 or 20 times harder. 

I couldn't help but think about how this applies specifically to being in clinical practice.

There's so much more to it than we originally suspect.

We have these visions of ourselves frolicking in fields and spending all day connecting with clients who find us organically and know that we're just the person to help them.

And most of the time, it's not that.

It's not bad, necessarily, just not what we'd imagined and - like Wong says above - takes a lot more effort on so many levels.

We spend longer in in the "I'm a beginner" stage than it seems like we should, and there's always something else to learn/do/fix/improve.

I'm sharing this because I think it helps to acknowledge that this work takes so much effort. It's really, really not easy.

It's generally quite fun. It's absolutely rewarding. It's the work of a lifetime.

I think it's worth it, and it's definitely been very different than I thought it would be when I started down this path.

Take care,

Camille 

@Anastasia Salichou

My newsletter today, hopefully not too promotional for this forum ❤️ 

My work has involved teaching in one way or another since the late 1990s.

Over the years I've realized that teaching offers as much learning for me as it does (hopefully!) for the students in my classes or workshops.

The act of preparing to teach helps me to organize and clarify my thinking, even on subjects that I know like the back of my hand. New insights emerge each time I prepare for a class.

The questions people ask and the energy that's co-created in a classroom - virtual or in person - often brings about new insights that I wouldn't have been able to access on my own.

Ultimately this process is part of an evolution and deepening of my own work.

There's so much value in sharing what you know well - both for those in your community and for your own development as a practitioner.

This is why we've been running the Monday Mentoring conference for the past few years.

It's a chance for folks in Monday Mentoring to share their learning, experience, and wisdom with other practitioners so that we can all continue growing. Many of these folks are presenting in a conference setting for the first time, and I'm so excited to hear what they have to say.

This year, we're opening up the sessions for other to attend.

The Monday Mentoring conference is this Saturday (April 15), and you're invited. It's either free or $25 (you choose).

Here are the presentations we have lined up. Each will be 20-30 min, with time for questions.

• 11 am ET: Greek Medicine: A very brief introduction with Nick Cavanaugh
• 12 pm ET: Understanding Fertility Labs with Liane Moccia
• 1 pm ET: Succeed with SIBO with Louise Beach
• 2 pm ET: Permaculture and Holistic Health with Chris George
• 3 pm ET: A Case for Topical Medicines with Sia Hanna

Learn more about the classes & presenters and sign up here.

If you can't make it live, you will get access to the recordings, although I encourage you to show up live to support the presenters if you can!

Hope to see you there.

Take care,

Camille

@Anastasia Salichou