THE MOTHER NATURE
THE FAMILY GROOVE’S PROFILE OF A MOM WHO’S MAKING IT HAPPEN
Gone are the days of the traditional coffee clutch, because at THE FAMILY GROOVE, we’re doing it new
school,
bringing people together to laugh, learn, share and commiserate in the global village called the
Internet.
This month, we want you to meet Stephenie Riley, a naturopathic doctor, mother of two and woman
on the front lines of healthy living 2.0. This impassioned eco-advocate not only practices but preaches
the benefits of environmental medicine via her role as EcoMom expert for the EcoMom Alliance.
Here, the down-to-earth doctor talks meditation, living in the present, and the benefits of finding balance in your mind, body and soul.
1. Who are you?
Stephenie Riley
2. How old are you?
43
3. Where do you live?
Tahoe City, Calif.
4. How many children do you have? How old?
My son, Kaz, is 7 and a half years old, and my daughter, Sophia, is just 4 years old.
5. What time do you get up?
6:30 to 7 a.m.
6. What daily rituals must you do to feel normal?
Wow, I wish I could say there was that much consistency in my life.
7. What do you wish you’d do every day, but haven’t been able to incorporate into your routine?
Meditation. Meditation has always been an elusive goal for me. I recently took a short meditation class series (of course, this will make me find the time on a daily basis!), and the big “aha” moment for me was realizing this elusive goal was actually a process and not an act. There was no formula, like 30 minutes a day for three years equals uber-zen mom. The class actually gave me the chaotic-life license to realize five minutes in the car while waiting for school to get out may be the only time I have to bring this into my life, and that’s OK.
Do I meditate every day? No, not yet. But I do make the time when I can, and I have begun to meditate on a fairly regular basis. I think, more importantly, this realization has allowed me to view other goals that have fallen by the wayside in a similar manner and start pulling them back into my life in small pieces—maybe I did have a moment of enlightenment!
8. Do you work?
Yes.
9. What do you do?
I am a naturopathic doctor (ND) in private practice, and am the EcoMom expert in Environmental Medicine for the EcoMom Alliance.
10. Tell us about it.
Naturopathic medicine is a type of primary health care that combines aspects of both conventional and natural medicines. Our emphasis is on finding the underlying cause of imbalance versus focusing on managing the symptoms. I pursued this career after almost 10 years of designing medical devices, and it is very much a passion for me.
A large percentage of my practice is children, and diet and lifestyle are a great focus in terms of the fundamental education I provide to all patients. In particular, children have such a great capacity to bring their bodies back into balance given the right tools and support that quite often, very simple diet and lifestyle changes can make significant changes in their overall health.
My role with EcoMom has allowed me to expand my role of “doctor as teacher” to more people, and has also allowed me to focus on the aspects environmental medicine brings to the pursuit of optimal health.
In our world today, it’s not a question of if you are exposed to a variety of chemicals and toxins, but how many and how they impact you as an individual. We all benefit from reducing the toxicity in our immediate world to the greatest extent we can, and children even more significantly than adults. Because they are growing rapidly and developing, their systems are much more susceptible to the insults we experience on a daily basis.
11. What’s the best thing your mother ever told you?
I could be anything I wanted to be.
12. What does being a good mother mean?
For me, to be present with my children and cherish every moment I have with them. This is often a struggle for me, as I have always been a very goal-oriented person, and in family life there is always that “just one more thing” that needs to be done.
Being a good mother to me is being there for my children when they need me, giving them the ability to learn to navigate the ups and downs of life, and providing them guidance to learn to make wise choices on their own as the time comes.
13. What’s your mantra/personal philosophy?
My mantra is more about experiencing and enjoying the present for what it has to offer. If the present slips by, so does an opportunity for growth, learning and sharing; this is no more apparent than in our time with our children.
14. What do you tell other mothers?
In my role as a doctor, often it’s reassuring the moms about the decisions they have made over time. It’s really rewarding to see the impact small changes can have on the health of a child, but so often for moms that comes with the thought of “What have I been doing to my child for so long?” We all do the best we can with the information we have at the time we have it.
15. Finish this sentence: I want my child to know…
They are a lens that has permanently altered my view of the world and my life. I want them to know how proud I am of them as I watch them grow and develop, becoming these new little people unto themselves.
16. Who inspires you?
The pioneering women out there who have fought so much adversity to make the world what it is now for us as women.
17. What are you passionate about?
Fairness, honesty and a clean world for us all to live in!
18. How do you balance your life as a woman, a mother, a friend?
I guess I like to think of balance as being more of a dynamic rather than a constant state. Balance is about give and take. Some days I’m better at one aspect of my life than another. I’m not sure it’s a reasonable goal to believe you can truly excel at all three aspects at the same time.
So I don’t feel like I can say I have achieved a true balance, but I have accepted the dynamic nature of the juggling act and know sometimes I may drop a ball. Like meditation for me, I get closer every day to that concept of perfection, but it remains an elusive goal.
19. What do you wish you knew then that you know now?
I used to think I was busy when I just had a career. Now that I have children and a career, I understand what busy really is.
20. How do you get into your groove?
Being thankful for the gifts I have to give, the challenges that allow me to grow and the family I have to share it all with. I am most in my groove when I can find the space to be truly present with all that. This usually happens when I can see the innocence and pure wonder of life in my children’s faces.
For more from Stephenie, go to
www.dr-riley.com.
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