Ann-Marie DePalma
As hygienists and oral health professionals, we know that health is not the absence of disease but a state of complete and total well-being. Christel Autuori, RDH, RYT, FAADH, MA, has created a fun, interactive program that moves beyond the traditional oral-systemic connection to the multidimensional perspective that is holistic health. Her program, titled “21st Century Dental Hygiene: An Integrative Practice,” encompasses mind, body, and spirit, and reflects the evolving practice of medicine and dentistry from conventional Western medicine to the integrative approach to health and well-being.
Christel examines mindfulness, staying present in the moment, and how to listen to the body, mind, and soul so that one can become aware of the subtle signs that indicate imbalance. She explores mindfulness techniques, yoga, energy healing, food and herbal preparations, aromatherapy, meditation, guided imagery, Ayurveda, and aspects of traditional Chinese medicine. Participants learn to incorporate healing modalities into not only hygiene treatment plans, but also into everyday life for better health and vitality.
As a certified holistic stress management instructor and certified integrative health coach, Christel presents stress management workshops titled, “Creating Calm in the Chaos,” and “When Life Starts Rocking, You Keep Rolling.” For dental hygiene students and faculty she presents, “Rebalance, Reset, and Respond.” Her experiences as a hygienist and yoga teacher are blended into “Acuyoga for You and Your Patient,” and “Yoga Off the Mat and Into the Dental Operatory.”
The “Creating Calm” program reviews diseases that may result from long-term chronic stress, discusses abdominal or belly breathing, and reviews stress-busting practices. The “Yoga Off the Mat” program is designed to alleviate the neuromuscular imbalances and stresses that clinical practice can produce. All members of the dental team will benefit from Christel’s presentations since patients often ask about herbs, natural products, and other healthy and alternative substances or practices. The dental team should be familiar with these products and approaches in order to advise patients, as well as to maintain their own health.