That’s hard to answer really, because for me Naturopathy is more than a therapy or modality, its an entire way of approaching life so I’m living the philosophy every minute of the day. I stay up to date with the latest research, adding posts to my blog, and I also teach at the Naturopathic College in SW Portland, all of which takes up a lot of my time. But to answer the question, I’d say I spend my “free time” between reacquainting myself with Portland after being away for years, hiking, yoga, qi gong, futurism, gardening, cooking and convincing my Peruvian wife that its not going to rain tomorrow – she still doesn’t believe me…

Why did you become a naturopath?

Well, according to my mother, I was always destined  to be a doctor. Perhaps it was the numerous trips to the pediatrician’s office for ear infections due to an undiagnosed milk allergy. Regardless, by the age of there I was the proud owner of the “anatomy coloring book for children”. My interest in medicine  continued throughout my childhood, with me pestering my parents with ever more complicated medical questions, which led to a small collection of medical books while still in grade school. The concept of healthy living was ingrained upon me by my parents and grandparents, who were fans of the late Jack LaLaine. I was blessed with an upbringing involving healthy food in burgeoning age of junkfood. Eating healthy and taking vitamins were normal to me. My interest in Chinese medicine began with Kung Fu training in high school. I was particularly fascinated with Tai Chi and Qi Gong which I learned from a former Shanolin monk. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area exposed me to much of Asian culture, especially Chinese herbal medicine.

As a young adult, my interest in medicine became more focused after my mother’s many years of migraines and TIAs culminated in a stroke. From this experience I intuitively knew that there was more the medicine than just responding to crises such as strokes, heart attacks, etc and that there must be some form of medicine that focused on preventing these health problems from occurring in the first place. This drove me to seek out answers about disease prevention and led me to question our societies concept of health and wellness. As I dug deep into natural health, I discovered Naturopathic medicine which fit everything I was looking for in its approach to health.

What is your favorite thing about the Mississippi neighborhood?

I believe the revitalization of the neighborhood captures the essence of Portland itself and the unique ways we express ourselves creatively within the city.