Sitting on my yoga mat this morning, I noticed a giddy, anticipatory feeling flooding my senses as I sought to find my center. It’s because I especially admire our beautiful cover this month that I've been keeping it in my mind’s eye as a focal, calming agent. And, as it came into view, my thoughts raced, instead, through the plethora of stimulating topics and the many professionals we've connected with to feature in this month's edition. While every issue holds some sort of spark that ignites my soul, this one is particularly near and dear to my heart. 

Emotional healing is our focus this month, inviting us to take seriously the factors that contribute to storing trauma and angst within the body and explore ways we can unravel it holistically. No one needs data to confirm the impact of the past several years on the psyche of the population and planet. The idea of post-traumatic stress has peaked with professionals and families now familiar with the care needed for anyone who has sustained intense, sudden and life-changing events. From integrative counseling to energy healing, somatic movement, hypnotherapy and more, Natural Awakenings aims to connect you with the local practitioners ready to help you take the first step towards healing. I’m honored to be a catalyst in this process of union and wholeness.

The practice of yoga—a long-time love of mine—is also a potent stress-buster and the topic makes for a fitting match to our feature theme seeing as September is also National Yoga Month. Be sure to check out our special yoga section beginning on page 16 featuring studios in Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess counties. Yoga’s contribution to mind-body health and fitness is proving to be a reliable defense against age-related loss of mobility, cardiovascular disease as well as depression.

As always, we are grateful for your continued support and engagement.

Erica Mills, Publisher