Kristin Mills CNHP


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Member for: 11 weeks 5 days

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My Story

Ten years ago, I was an unlikely candidate to become a Naturopath. I had moved to Boston after high school to study Education and Psychology, and later continued on with Marketing and Advertising. I lived in many places and had many interests, never committing to one, working as a model-school teacher-corporate trainer-model (again!)- TV host-actor-cosmetic spokesperson-make up artist-actor (again!). Good times.

They say there are no accidents...

In July 1999, I was bitten by a spider and taken to a "Top 10" hospital in LA. I was given an OD of a drug cocktail in the ER, putting me in cardiac arrest. After coming out of the coma, I had some time to think about my life's course. I began reading natural health books, cleansing, smudging the house and diffusing essential oils at home---but largely disregarded the big-picture push, and continued acting.

I was visiting NY on 9/11. I lost friends and childhood neighbors that day. It was heartbreaking to drive through suburban train station parking lots and see the many white chalk marks on car tires a week after the towers fell. I joined the local American Red Cross chapter and delivered gift baskets to families and took orders for homemade quilts for children's bedrooms. I met widows who showed me family and wedding photos and told me their stories, recalling fond and funny memories of their husbands, now lost. We laughed and cried together, as women do.

These women and children would come to be the catalyst that changed my life.

I stayed in NY and went back to school to study Aromatherapy. I gave my essential oil blend homework assignments to a NYSLMT to use on rescue workers at Ground Zero. After several weeks, he said he thought I was 'onto something' and, upon completion of my program, Blissentials™ Therapeutic Essential Oil Blends was born in 2002. I continued my studies, including Nutrition, and was later recruited for a senior executive position with a cosmeceutical company. The founder (a NY Times best-selling author and MD) and I shared a lot of common thoughts on nutrition, so it was a good fit. It was a huge responsibility and great experience. I later realized how much I missed LA and wanted to return to Santa Monica. About the time I earned my CNHP credential, I got a call from a director I had previously worked with to do a film. You didn't have to ask me twice----I buttoned up my responsibilities and moved back to LA.

When the film wrapped, I got a call that my Dad (who had never spent a day in the hospital since the day he was born) was battling unexplained and debilitating symptoms. It was serious. I spent the following year on airplanes, making 13 cross-country flights.

My mother and I had many battles about his prognosis and treatment plan. She was never a fan of pharmaceuticals when we were growing up. She just didn't believe in them and always had one of her swedish remedies to fix us in no time. Imagine my surprise when my natural solution suggestions weren't taken seriously by my parents. They had completely bought into a myopic viewpoint after months of tests, procedures and office visits. Sad to say that none of his medical team ever (to this day) gave anything more than a vague explanation of possibilities regarding his condition. I thought the surgery decision was hasty and unfounded, but my Dad's surgical team didn't hesitate to remove 1/3 of his lung.

Tragically, this handsome, strong, fit man who commuted with the young and hungry Wall Streeters every day for over 40 years---surviving those icy winters and oppressively hot and sticky summers, schlepping miles in the pitch dark during the seemingly annual power outages-- appeared to age 20 years overnight. Once a brilliant mind, quick wit and loving heart, my Dad was never the same. I returned to LA, heartbroken.

The fall out with my family did not derail me. I continued my studies and went on to earn 25+ advanced Natural Health certifications. There's always a lesson and clearing with tears, and I realized that my family's lack of/refusal of information was a good reminder for me that Americans are still largely oriented to allopathy. There's nothing wrong with it, other than it's limiting. Why limit yourself when your well being is at stake? It makes sense to keep all options open.

The truth is that it's not about making a choice between allopathy and naturopathy, but rather the integration of the two, is best for most. We don't need to have our lives saved every day (allopathy), but we do need to learn to live well and be well on a daily basis (naturopathy).

In 2005, I relocated to South Orange County, California, where I work as a Traditional Naturopath. I founded Laguna Natural Health, a general natural health practice specializing in Nutrition and Detoxification. Find out more at www.LagunaNaturalHealth.com. I am in the planning stages to raise $50MM to build a fully-integrated health center. I know, it's lofty...thankfully there's a lot of interest. I have been approached to produce and host a TV show for a natural health network.

I like hiking, swimming, yoga, turbo kick boxing and enjoy spending time with friends, enjoying the incredible beauty of Laguna Beach. I'm still a huge Red Sox fan...go Saux!! But mostly, I am grateful for all of God's blessings.