Health Care and Human Services
Explorations in Integrative Wellness
Instructor information
Instructor for course # 38281
Ayurveda: An Integrated Approach to Wellness
Sonia Elisa Masocco co-teaches sessions of Level 1 Lifestyles and Integrated Lab, Level 2 Ayurvedic Herbology and sessions of Level 2 Assessment and Management and co-teaches Level 2 Integrated Lab and Grand Rounds at the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque. She also conducts the Ayurvedic Beauty Concepts and the Aromatherapy and Ayurveda intensives.
An ITEC qualified practitioner in Aromatherapy, Reflexology and Massage Therapy, she has continued with study and practice in Clinical Aromatherapy and Herbology. She completed the Ayurvedic Studies Program and has participated in the Gurukula program in Pune, India. Having been in private practice in Hong Kong and Albuquerque, she brings her clinical experience as well as her passion for plants and plant medicine as a vibratory vehicle for transformation.
Go to course description.
Instructor for course # 38303
Curanderismo in the 21st Century
Elena Avila, MSN, RN, Curandera
Elena Avila is a first generation Chicana born in the barrios of El Paso, Texas. Her parents were born in Mexico and brought their medicine with them — medicine passed down through time. Elena's first language was Spanish, and her family's health care included Curanderismo as well as western medicine.
As a director of nursing in a prestigious psychiatric hospital, Ms. Avila came to believe that conventional Western medicine leaves out much of what makes up a human being — the soul, the patient’s spiritual beliefs, the complexity of human experience, and the need for personalized integrative medicine.
Her book, Woman Who Glows in the Dark, A Curandera reveals Traditional Aztec Secrets of Physical and Spiritual Health, is an autobiographical account of how Elena, trained as a psychiatric nurse specialist, became a folk medicine healer. It is a national bestseller and the only title ever published in which a curandera reveals the ancient tradition of Curanderismo from an authentic practitioner’s point of view. In this book, Elena explains the origins and practice of Curanderismo, which is one of the oldest forms of medicine in the New World. Curanderismo, the Medicine from the South, encompasses the forms of healing that are a combination of Indigenous, Spanish and African influences practiced on this continent for hundreds of years.
Rooted in Aztec teachings, Ms. Avila’s introductory course on Curanderismo covers physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health. The hands on one-day workshop will introduce the use of the platicas and limpias.
Renowned throughout the United States and Mexico as a Curandera, Elena Avila is an international speaker on the subject. She was awarded the Martin de la Cruz Medal, an international honor for excellence in the practice and research of Curanderismo. Elena is a member of the International Congress of Traditional and Folk Medicine. She has taught at various universities on cultural diversity and Curanderismo. She is a poet, writer, playwright and actor. Elena has 4 children and 5 grandchildren.
Go to course description.
Instructors for course # 38254
Women & Depression:
Holistic Options for Treatment
Three practitioners (Javan Oston, Chiropractor, Alyssa Wostrel, Homeopath, and Mark Raterink, Medical Doctor) will present information about various treatment modalities and treatment options for depression, based on their own observations in their practices and general knowledge of the alternative treatment of depression.
Go to course description.
Instructors for course # 38261
Medical Herbalism 101: Foundations
Daniel Gagnon, Owner of Herbs, Etc., resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and has been a practicing Medical Herbalist since 1976. Born in French Canada, he relocated to Santa Fe in 1979. There, he furthered his studies in herbalism, pharmacognosy and related subjects at the Santa Fe and the College of Pharmacy at the University of New Mexico. In 2004, he obtained his Bachelor of Science in Herbal Medicine from the North American College of Botanical Medicine in Albuquerque. Daniel is the co-author of Breathe Free, a nutritional and herbal self-care book for the respiratory system as well as the author of the best-selling book Liquid Herbal Drops in Everyday Use. He was senior professor of Materia Medica at the North American College of Botanical Medicine until closure of the school in 2004. Daniel is the acting director of the Botanical Research and Education Institute in Santa Fe, which publishes educational material on herbal therapeutic.
Go to course description.
Deborahlise Mota is a licensed Acupuncturist and Chinese Herbalist, as well as a Registered Professional Herbalist with the American Herbalists Guild. She has had extensive training and experience in herbal production, plant identification, herb cultivation, clinical evaluation and treatment. Deborahlise received her Masters in Oriental Medicine from the International Institute of Chinese Medicine, following her undergrad in Sustainable agriculture and plant sciences from UC Santa Cruz. Her herbal training came from a collaborative of schools, including the SW School of Botanical Medicine, East-West School of Herbology, Foundations in Herbal Medicine, the Institute of Vedic Studies, Santa Barbara College of Oriental Medicine, and the Ayurvedic Institute. After ten years of clinical practice, Deborahlise is now focusing on teaching, writing, and raising a family.
Go to course description.
Bert Norgorden, MA, BSC., was the owner-operator of The Herb Store in Albuquerque for 14 years. In 1988, after studying with Michael Moore at the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine, he began wild-crafting and making herbal medicines. Bert is currently course director for Foundations in Herbal Medicine, a correspondence course in herbal medicine, by Tieraona Low Dog, MD. In addition, he makes herbal tinctures for The Plant Works and is pursuing a project of taking photographs of the life cycles of medicinal plants that grow in the Southwest. Bert has taught botany, plant identification and herbal medicine making at the North American College of Botanical Medicine, the Ayurvedic Institute and the Southwest College of Natural Healing.
Go to course description.
Contact
The Program Supervisor, 277-6025, or email hhs@dce.unm.edu.
