Blog
Unlock Your Inner Balance: Discovering Your CODE/AURA for a Healthier You - Dr. Cheng Ruan
At the Texas Center for Lifestyle Medicine, we believe true well-being means more than just not being sick. It's about understanding yourself, handling your feelings well, and building strong, good relationships that make life better. This idea is central to our work, helping us guide people to achieve overall health.
My sister, Dr. Diana Ruan, and I created the CODE/AURA Profile with this goal in mind. This special system is a complete guide to help people understand their inner thoughts and how they interact with the world. We first made it to help professionals in stressful jobs, especially in healthcare, where burnout is common. But we quickly saw that it could help everyone.
We found that the ideas and practices in the CODE/AURA Profile were very useful for anyone wanting to improve their emotional skills, become stronger, and live a more balanced, happy, and meaningful life. This system, first made to help healthcare workers deal with burnout, has become a valuable tool for an...
Enhancing Emotional Intelligence and Mindfulness
At Texas Center for Lifestyle Medicine, we're committed to empowering individuals through innovative approaches to health and wellness. One such approach is our group visit program, where we delve into the intricacies of the healing journey and support each other in managing life's challenges.
Understanding the Code and Aura: A New Framework for Emotional Intelligence
In our recent group visit, we explored a new framework for emotional intelligence and emotional wellness,, designed to help you identify and understand your subconscious archetypes and emotional responses. This framework consists of two vital components: the "Code" and the "Aura."
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Code: The Code represents four archetypes of human consciousness: Commander, Organizer, Diplomat, and Examiner (CODE). Understanding your dominant archetype can aid in how you interact with others and perceive the world.
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Aura: The Aura quantifies your emotional intelligence in various situations, based on Awareness, Understanding,
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Exploring the Role of Co-Regulation, Relationships, and Somatic Release in Holistic Health
At Texas Center for Lifestyle Medicine, we recently hosted an insightful podcast-style discussion that delved into the profound connections between trauma, physical health, and brain health. This narrative explores the journey of a patient who experienced a remarkable transformation after attending a mind-body trauma release class. By focusing on holistic healing techniques and supportive community practices, this individual was able to reconnect with their body and find newfound vitality.
Understanding the Mind-Body Connection Dr. Brian Plante, a naturopathic physician at the Amen Clinics, shared his expertise on the importance of addressing the whole person to promote brain health and overall wellness. He emphasized the role of trauma in disrupting normal stress cycles and how unresolved emotional issues can manifest physically. Dr. Plante explained that when emotions are suppressed, the sympathetic nervous system goes into overdrive, keeping the body in a constant state of aler
...The Dance of Healing: Finding Balance Between Solitude and Connection
A Mindful Monday Reflection from Texas Center for Lifestyle Medicine
In our journey toward wellness, we often encounter moments that feel like what mystics have called the "dark night of the soul"—those periods of deep introspection, solitude, and sometimes profound loneliness. But here's a question worth pondering: Is this retreat into darkness truly healing for our mind and spirit, or might we be missing something essential?
The Paradox of Healing
While solitude and introspection certainly have their place in our healing process, modern research reveals something that might surprise you: healing happens most powerfully in the context of relationships. This creates an interesting paradox. The very relationships that can wound us deeply—especially those marked by unhealthy dynamics—are also the spaces where our most profound healing can unfold.
Think about it: it takes a special kind of love to reach into the dark, wounded places within us. Not just any love will do. It req
...The Healing Power of Belief: Placebo Effect and Mind-Body Medicine
In our latest session of the "Unboxing You" group visit series, led by Dr. Cheng Ruan, we delved deep into harnessing the mind-body connection through an exploration of the placebo effect. This intriguing topic reveals how our beliefs and environment can significantly influence our health and well-being.
Understanding the Placebo Effect
The placebo effect is a fascinating phenomenon where simply believing in the efficacy of a treatment can result in real physiological changes. Dr. Ruan illustrated this with compelling stories from history, including a World War II anesthesiologist who used a saline solution in place of morphine, resulting in genuine pain relief for severely wounded soldiers. This underscores the power of belief in shaping our physical reality.
Our Environment and Belief Systems Matter
The session highlighted the importance of our environment and belief systems in activating the placebo effect. Dr. Ruan shared a thought-provoking diagram, the "Health and Life Diag
...Ask the Expert: Posture, Fascia and Function with Dr. Tiffany Poole and Kristie Gatto
In our quest to improve overall wellness, we host a series called "Ask the Expert," where each month we introduce a new guest speaker to share their expertise on various health topics. This time, our spotlight focused on the fascinating interplay of posture, fascia, and function, with Dr. Tiffany Poole, a chiropractor, and Kristie Gatto, a certified myofunctional and speech therapist, leading the discussion.
Understanding the Connection: Posture, Fascia, and Health
The session began with an in-depth exploration of the integral role fascia plays in our body. Often overlooked, fascia is a band or sheet of connective tissue, primarily collagen, that sits beneath the skin and wraps organs, muscles, and other structures. This connective tissue not only shapes our anatomy but also facilitates bodily functions and can influence our overall health and posture.
The Expert Insight
Dr. Tiffany Poole emphasized the structural alignment's role in health, highlighting how a misalignment can
...Transforming Trauma: A Journey of Healing and Community
This week at TCLM, our mind-body medicine practitioner Geny Moreno is wrapping up her transformative six-week "Mind-Body Skills for Transforming Trauma" group program, and the results have been nothing short of extraordinary.
A Holistic Approach to Healing
Throughout this powerful journey, Geny has guided attendees through a comprehensive toolkit of mind-body healing modalities. Participants have explored genograms to understand family patterns, engaged in somatic release techniques to unlock stored tension and emotions, and learned to combine breath work with movement for enhanced self-regulation and coping strategies. These evidence-based approaches address trauma not just mentally, but as it lives within the body itself.
One of the most powerful aspects of the program has been the moderated group sharing sessions. In these sacred spaces, Geny has created an atmosphere of safety and non-judgment where attendees can hold space for one another, sharing vulnerably and authentically. ...
Hormonal Health: 7 Surprising Ways Women Disrupt Their Hormonal Balance
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Hormones are the body's chemical messengers, orchestrating everything from metabolism and mood to reproduction and sleep. For women especially, maintaining hormonal balance is crucial for overall wellbeing. Yet many of us unknowingly engage in daily habits that throw these delicate systems into disarray.
Understanding what disrupts your hormonal balance is the first step toward reclaiming your health and vitality. In this post, we'll explore seven common factors that can wreak havoc on women's hormonal systems—and what you can do about them.
1. Sleep Deprivation: The Silent Hormone Disruptor
That late-night Netflix binge isn't just making you tired—it's throwing your hormones into chaos. Quality sleep is fundamental to hormonal regulation, particularly for cortisol (your stress hormone), insulin (your blood sugar regulator), and reproductive hormones like estrogen and progesterone.
When you consistently shortchange your sleep:
- Your hunger hormones get confused (hello, ghrelin ...
How our Upbringing can Shape our Healing Experiences
In the journey of healing, understanding the deep-seated impact of family dynamics and emotional patterns is crucial. We often find that trauma isn't just what has happened to us but sometimes what was missing during our formative years, like emotional neglect or absence of support. With this in mind, Geny Moreno, a mind-body medicine practitioner, is excited to introduce our upcoming Mind-Body Healing Groups designed to help you navigate and transform your trauma, starting next week.
Understanding Family Dynamics and Emotional Patterns
Healing begins with awareness. In the words of renowned speakers on the subject, the impact of subtle neglect and lack of emotional expression during childhood can profoundly shape our adult relationships and behaviors. This is especially true for those of us who suppress emotions tightly or express them with difficulty. These behaviors can stem from early interactions with caregivers who were not fully present or supportive, leaving a need for emotio...
Mind-Body Skills for Transforming Trauma Group Coaching Program
In today’s fast-paced world, it's easy to overlook the toll that unprocessed trauma and stress can take on our minds and bodies. But healing is possible, especially when we embrace a holistic approach that addresses the mind and the nervous system. We invite you to join our transformative mind-body groups, led by the expert guidance of Geny Moreno, a dedicated mind-body medicine practitioner.
Meet Geny Moreno: Your Guide to Mind-Body Wellness
Geny Moreno brings a wealth of knowledge and practice to the table, emphasizing the connection between our thoughts, emotions, and physical well-being. Geny's unique approach incorporates tools such as Tai Chi, Qigong, meditation, and somatic release—all of which are designed to help participants manage stress and process emotions in a healthy, supportive environment.
Understanding Trauma: Big T and Little t
Trauma can be both blatant and subtle—referred to as big T and little t traumatizing experiences. Through group interactions, Geny of
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