WELCOME BACK!  Nora Gilmore our wonderful client services coordinator is back with us!  You may have already heard her melodious voice on the phone, or seen her warm smile greeting you as you enter the Center.  We're glad she's part of the Sastun family once again!

Sadly we say goodbye to Danielle Claypool, our most recent receptionist, who has decided to be a full time mom for now.  We wish her the very best!!

Another bittersweet farewell is to Laura Mead, who has decided to conduct her practice of Bioenergy Healing only from her office in Topeka beginning November 1^st.  Driving several days each week to Kansas City has finally become a limiting factor for Laura's life. While we are sad to say goodbye, we are so glad we had several years of close association with her and her superb healing practice.  Laura will continue to work with the Sastun Center providing periodic seminars and workshops, and consulting in patient care when needed.  We wish Laura the very best and thank her for her contributions over these last several years.

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In case you need to reach a specific person at the Sastun Center, we thought a listing of our various extensions might be helpful:

100         Receptionist                                   107      Barbara Bridges, ARNP, EdD

101         Connie Kerstetter                          108      Nurse Line

102         Mehdi Khosh, ND                          109      Pharmacy Refill Line

103         Jane Murray, MD                           110      Cynthia Chamberlain, DiplAc, DiplCH

104         Art Kent, NCTMB                         111      Laura Mead, CBT

105         Tamara Mikinski, PhD                  112      Eastern Healing Solutions, receptionist

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction is coming to Sastun Center!

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) - is an 8 week educational program based on the very successful stress reduction program at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD and featured in Bill Moyer's PBS documentary series Healing and the Mind. MBSR offers powerful coping tools for dealing with stress, pain and debilitating illness.  Over 2 decades of published scientific research support the efficacy of this program.

Consistently, participants report these lasting benefits:

decreased physical and psychological symptoms, increased ability to cope with stressful situations, coping better with illness and chronic pain, improved self-esteem and enthusiasm for life, reductions in pain levels and an enhanced ability to cope with pain that may not go away.

MBSR complements the medical management of a wide variety of health challenges. People participate for reasons as diverse as... chronic pain, heart disease, cancer, headaches, anxiety and panic, GI distress, high blood pressure, asthma, stress ã job, family or financial, sleep or eating disturbances, fibromyalgia and substance abuse.

When:  9:30am to 11:30am on Saturdays from Sept. 23rd through Nov.18^th.  No class will be held on Sat., Oct. 7^th.  One daylong session (9-4pm) will be held on Sun., Nov. 5th.

Where: Sastun Center of Integrative Health Care, 5509 Foxridge Dr., Mission, KS

Cost: Sliding scale from $275- $400 plus a $35 materials fee for the entire course.

The instructor, Lisa Pinsker, has worked in patient and clinical education for twenty years.  She holds an MA in Holistic Health Education and is a Certified Health Education Specialist.

You are invited to join us for a free introductory session on

Saturday,  September 9^th from 10-11:30am

Call Lisa at 913-789-9696 or email "heartprograms@sbcglobal.net" to reserve your space at the introductory session or for more information about MBSR and the 8-week course.

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Professional Growth Group - It's Back!

Are you a health professional looking for some practice building support?  Would you like to spend some time envisioning and creating the type of work environment that works for you?  Back by popular demand, it is our professional development group.  This fall we will be meeting on alternate Thursdays from 11:30 am until 1:00 pm in the Sastun Classroom.  Our first session is September 7^th - new members are welcome to either of the first two sessions.  Just call Nora or Dr. Tammy Mikinski to sign up or with questions.   $25 per session if you attend once per month, if you opt to come more frequently, you only pay $20 per session.   You may pre-pay $100 for all eight sessions.

Fall schedule - Thursdays 11:30 to 1:00

September 7 and 21

October 5 and 19

November 2, 16, and 30

December 14

Liz Franklin's Yoga in Chairs - Tuesdays, 6:15 PM and Thursdays, 10:00 AM                          

These one-hour classes are held in the Conference Room. Wear loose-fitting, comfortable clothes.   We begin with a time of quiet contemplation, gently move all the joints and muscles in our bodies, and end with a time of complete relaxation.    

No prior experience is necessary. All of the poses may be done seated in your chair (or wheelchair).  Please email or call prior to your first class. The cost is $32 for four classes, which may be used within a 6-week period.  Walk-ins are welcome at $10 per class.

Liz Franklin 913-526-6986  Liz@YogaInChairs.com

Free "Yoga in Chairs" Classes available for people with Multiple Sclerosis  

 Mondays, 6:15 PM and Wednesdays, 7:00 PM

These one-hour classes are held in the Conference Room. Wear loose-fitting, comfortable clothes.   We begin with a time of quiet contemplation, gently move all the joints and muscles in our bodies, and end with a time of complete relaxation.    

No prior experience is necessary. All of the poses may be done seated in your chair (or wheelchair).  These classes are funded in full by a grant from the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation.  There is no cost to the participants.

If you require assistance attending this class, your assistant may also attend free of charge, space permitting. 

You must pre-register for these free classes by calling or emailing: Liz Franklin 913-526-6986  Liz@YogaInChairs.com

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GENTLE HATHA YOGAWednesday, 5:45-6:45 p.m.

This beginner class will explore yoga postures (asana), breath work (pranayama), concentration and relaxation.  This class offers a safe gentle introduction to body awareness through movement, to form while learning the basic poses, and to mental well- being through relaxation.     8 week series.  Cost: $72.

To register:  913-403-8181 or e-mail:  claudiacardin@sbcglobal.net  Instructor:  Claudia Cardin-Kleffner, OTR, RYT

HATHA YOGA VINYASA.Thursday, 5:45-7:00 p.m.

This class is for the more experienced student who is interested in a mix of seated and standing poses and the energetic flow of the sun salutations.   This class allows one to explore the practice more deeply and to cultivate the support offered by synchronizing the breath with movement to enhance the mind, body, and spirit connection.  8 week series.  Cost:  $72.  To register:  913-403-8181 or e-mail:  claudiacardin@sbcglobal.net  Instructor:  Claudia Cardin-Kleffner, OTR, RYT

T'AI CHI FOR ARTHRITIS..NEW!!!  

This is a 6 week class that incorporates movement specifically developed for people with arthritis. This program is based on the Sun style of T'ai Chi.  It is easy to learn, safe and effective.  Benefits include increasing muscular strength, flexibility, balance, and increases the flow of energy by promoting the flow of Qi.  Tuesdays, 8:30-9:15 A.M. Starting October 3^rd -November 7^th, 2006.  Fee:  $54.00.   Call 913-403-8181 or e-mail claudiacardin@sbcglobal.net to register.  Claudia Cardin-Kleffner, OTR/C instructor, certified by Arthritis Foundation.

OTHER HEALING WORKSHOPS IN KANSAS CITY: 

Mandala:  A Path of Spiritual Healing

Saturday & Sunday, October 28 & 29, 2006  10:00 am - 5:00 pm (both days)

Saint Joseph Health Center, 1000 Carondelet Drive, Kansas City, Mo.

Discover new ways to heal and bring clarity to your life's purpose with the sacred art and spiritual science of the Mandala.  Using Dr. Judith Cornell's new Mandala Healing Kit: Using Sacred Symbols, the students will explore unique ways through this ancient wisdom to surmount the challenges of life.  This class is an avenue to reach deeply into knowing ourselves and thus, the Infinite.

            Cost of Workshop:  $195 plus Materials & 2 Lunches, $50

Inner Counselor Workshop

Saturday & Sunday, September 16 & 17, 2006, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm (Saturday, includes lunch) & 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm (Sunday)

St. Joseph Health Center, Building D, 1000 Carondelet Drive, Kansas City, Mo.

With a weekend of training, you can give yourself, your family, and your friends a gift of a system that promotes emotional harmony and growth that keeps on giving.  The Masters Institute will be presenting a weekend workshop on September 16 &17 on the Inner Counselor techniques by Inner Counselor co-creators Drs. Ann and Bob Nunley that can be a foundation for mental, emotional, and spiritual growth for a lifetime.

Cost of Workshop:  $175, includes Saturday lunch

Register  for either of the above workshops with Diane Masters, 816-373-8393.  Credit cards accepted.  Or mail check to: The Masters Institute, 325 Bluebeech Point, Lee's Summit, Mo. 64064    Email:  2masters@comcast.net

Website for more information:  http://www.mastersinstitute.org

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Friday March 30, 2007 - SAVE THE DATE!

Cancer Care presents its bi-annual conference on healing and cancer.  This year it will be held at the Overland Park Convention Center.  Keynote speaker will be Rachel Naomi Remen, MD - nationally acclaimed author of  Kitchen Table Wisdom and My Grandfather's Blessings.

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HEALTH TIPS FROM THE SASTUN STAFF:

This month's word is RESOURCES!  Take a fall inventory of your personal and social resources and see how you can mobilize them for positive change!  Too often low mood and anxiety are fueled by the three H's - Hopelessness, Helplessness, and Haplessness (you feel like you aren't able to do anything).  So take some time and reflect on your unique resources - make this an all-inclusive review.  Consider your emotional, social, financial, intellectual, creative, and cultural resources.  Then ask yourself how you can direct your resources in a different manner that promotes health and well being.  As a psychologist, I particularly like to have clients consider their thoughts as resources - just the gift of being able to alter your way of thinking about a situation and especially how you think about yourself is huge!  Redirecting some of your finances, asking for help from key support people, or thinking "out of the box" can greatly reduce stress and enhance problem-solving.  So here's to your resources!  Put them into action!

                                                                        -   Tammy Mikinski, PhD

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As we move from the longer days and shorter nights of summer we are reminded that all things are passing.  Harvest is here and the plants are giving up their fruits.  It is the season of surrender.  Even though many consider autumn their favorite time of year, it has a feeling of sadness or melancholy, even death.  There is a desire to hold on to what is familiar, of not wanting to yield.  But at the same time there is a yearning for new life - a new life that comes when the old is let go and the ground will be fertilized for the spring.  There is space for new seeds to be planted.   Take time to consider the habits, thoughts or feelings that do not serve you any longer and begin to surrender those.  Let them die to a new life, a life of greater peace.  It will feed the soil of the soul, making it more fertile ground for the next season of growing. 

-       Cindy Chamberlain

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Vitamin D turns out to be an important HORMONE (yes, hormone!) in our body.  It has beneficial effects on bone health, muscles, the brain and nervous system, and the immune system.  A "vitamin" is a co-factor in various chemical reactions in the body, while a "hormone" is a messenger molecule that has direct effects on cells.  The healthy level of vitamin D is about 50-90 ng/mL.  Many, many people have levels substantially lower than this range and feel tired, depressed, achy and sore, have poor sleep, and low bone density. Vitamin D is not found in many foods (only fortified milk products, liver and eggs) - we get it from exposure of our skin to the sun.  But, we don't want people getting skin cancer from too much sun exposure, so many of us end up being deficient.  .  Be sure to get your level checked if you haven't already done so. 

-       Jane Murray, MD

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SAVE THE DATE!!!    

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19,  2006

"Menopause, the Musical"                  

   the American Heartland Theater in Crown Center will be the venue for a

very special evening of humor, music and FUNDRAISING for Women in Balance.

Women in Balance is a national non-profit association of women, health professionals and organizations dedicated to helping women find healthy balance after 40, including hormone balance.  We promote education and research regarding bioidentical hormones and lifestyle choices, and want to preserve healthy and natural options for women as they transition midlife. (Dr. Murray is Board Chair of Women in Balance)  More information about Women in Balance can be found at: www.womeninbalance.org.  Sign up for the on-line newsletter and become a member of this important advocacy group!

Bring your friends and colleagues to this fun evening in October, and support a good cause!  Single tickets are $35, corporate sponsor levels at $750 and $1,500, with program recognition, 10 tickets and special incentives!!  Fabulous raffle items, food and more!

Call Sastun at (913)384-2284 or email info@sastuncenter.com for more information and to sign up!! (Make checks payable to "Women in Balance.")  It is sure to be the MOST hilarious and inspiring event of the year!!