Evolving Medicine: Rest, Renewal & Returning to Soulful Care

The Message That Sparked My Journey

Last fall, I experienced my first reiki session, closing with a brief tarot reading.

“What do I do?” I asked the healer.

She replied, “Ask for a message from the universe.”

So I did. The tarot card drawn: Message in a Bottle. The universe’s answer? That a message was coming.

The very next day, a patient looked me in the eye and said:“I almost stayed home, but I came to clinic to give you this message.”

It wasn’t subtle.

“You need to rest. You need to rest where you are at home, and do nothing, for 24 hours. No housework. No cooking. No reading. No talking. No videos. Just rest. And music. Healing music.”

He was right. I was bone tired. And the universe was nudging me gently—but firmly—toward deep healing through rest.

Rest as a Radical Act of Healing

I began a season of intentional rest. I prioritized sleep. I said “No” more often. And even though it took another month before I could gift myself 24 uninterrupted hours, I embraced a mindset of replenishment.

With rest came clarity.

I realized I needed to create a job that let me rest—even as I cared for others. That’s when my long-held dream began stirring again: to create a medical + wellness space focused on promoting health.

Creating Evolve Integrative Medicine

In January, I toyed with the idea of launching a practice that merges direct care and integrative wellness. Weeks later, my health center announced it was closing—then reversed course.

I had a choice. And I chose alignment over obligation.

I stepped into a practice of direct care medicine, designed around sustainable healing for both physician and patient.

Thus began Evolve Integrative Medicine—my deeply personal and professional transformation.

Embracing Slow Medicine and Direct Care

This spring became a creative awakening. I wrote for 30 minutes each morning. I jogged lakeside, swam, biked in mini triathlons—sometimes quadrathlons, when I added seated meditations.

I’ve said “Yes!” to writing. “Yes!” to healing. “Yes!” to practicing slow medicine, where time is honored, breath is sacred, and every symptom has space to be witnessed.

I’ve said no to urgency. No to the wheel of fee-for-service care that grinds down the soul.

A New Chapter in Healing: Mind, Body & Breath

After twenty years of conventional medicine, I’m finally practicing what I’ve long preached: self-care as medicine.

I ignored my body’s messages for too long. I placed others’ wellbeing above my own. But now, I’m creating space—for myself and my patients—to rest and transform.

This is medicine evolved. This is vibrant health through rest.

Want to experience integrative care rooted in rest and renewal?

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