Pohala Clinic - A Place of Healing

11/13/2025

🎉 Pohala Clinic Welcomes Dr. Alex M Cullen! 🎉

We are thrilled to introduce our newest provider, Dr. Alex M Cullen! He brings a powerful combination of Naturopathic Medicine and Clinical Research to offer compassionate, evidence-based care in Naturopathic Primary Care. He focuses on a wide scope, including Endocrinology, Cardiology, Neurology, and Mental Health.

Ready to benefit from his research-informed approach? Schedule your appointment today! Outside of the clinic, you might spot Dr. Cullen enjoying some strength training, mixed martial arts, or perhaps cooking up a storm!

Want to know more about Dr. Alex? Check out our blog! 👉 https://www.pohalaclinic.com/blog/pohala-clinic-welcomes-dr-alex-to-the-team

📅 Book now: https://www.pohalaclinic.com/
📱 Call now: 503-572-4196
📍 Pohala Clinic – A Place of Healing

11/08/2025

After several requests 🌟

Michael Foster, my husband and co-owner of Pohala Clinic is offering a Self Defense class
👊🥊🥋❣️💥🌈🧨

January 16-18th, 2026

This is unlike any other self defense class as Michael incorporates Spatial Dynamics, a holistic approach to assess your personal space and the environment around you. His expertise spans over 35yrs affecting Local to Federal/ National and as of 2025 World organizations. I can attest both personally and professionally that he has helped countless individuals come out unscathed from adverse circumstances and even prevented them altogether. Whether it be a woman trying to leave an abusive partner to a woman being acosted on the street Michael can help you garner your personal power and flip the dynamic in your favor.

Please share if you think this would be useful for the women your life!

Elevate Your Safety and Wellness: Join Our 2.5-Day Self-Defense and Spacial Dynamics Masterclass!

11/04/2025

🌺 𝓦𝓸𝓻𝓭 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓦𝓮𝓮𝓴: 𝓜ā𝓴𝓪𝓾𝓴𝓪𝓾 🌺

This week, we focus on the Hawaiian word Mākaukau, which means ready, prepared, or skilled. It’s a word that carries both confidence and calm, and a reminder that readiness is not just about action, but about mindset and heart.

Mākaukau means being ready and equipped for what lies ahead. It can describe someone who is prepared for a task or a challenge, but it also speaks to inner readiness that comes from self-awareness and trust.

In Hawaiian culture, being mākaukau reflects responsibility and respect. Whether setting out on a voyage, caring for the ʻāina, or tending to others, preparation showed not only skill but also honor for the task. To be mākaukau is to move with intention and confidence.

Healing often asks us to be mākaukau in new way. To show up for ourselves with openness even when we don’t have all the answers. Readiness doesn’t mean perfection. It means being willing to take the next step, no matter how small.

At Pohala Clinic, we help you feel mākaukau on your wellness journey. Through compassion, knowledge, and support, we walk beside you as you prepare your body, mind, and spirit for greater balance and healing. 🌿💚

This week, let Mākaukau remind you that readiness starts within. When your heart, mind, and spirit align, you are already prepared for what comes next.

11/03/2025

Autumn 🍂 Gathering 2025

We took some time out of time and enjoyed coming together.

Happy Halloween 🎃
Happy All Souls Day ✨

We honored our ancestors who came before us.

We Danced 🕺

We shared Butternut Squash soup and many other goodies.

A great shout out to my sister and my friend for helping decorate and create beautiful tissue paper flowers 💐 that are now displayed around Pohala until Thanksgiving.

10/27/2025

🌿 𝓦𝓸𝓻𝓭 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓦𝓮𝓮𝓴: 𝓤𝓵𝓾 🌿

This week, we reflect on the Hawaiian word Ulu, which carries beautiful layers of meaning: to grow, to inspire, to sprout, or to thrive. It can also refer to the breadfruit tree, a symbol of nourishment and abundance across the Pacific.

Ulu means growth in every sense be it physical, emotional, and spiritual. It is about expansion and becoming more of who you are meant to be. Like a seed that grows into a tree, ulu reminds us that growth takes time and nurturing.

In Hawaiian tradition, the ʻulu (breadfruit) is a vital source of food and a symbol of life and prosperity. It represents the strength of community and the importance of care and cultivation. When the ʻulu tree thrives, it feeds many which is a reflection of how our own growth can nourish those around us.

Ulu reminds us that healing is a form of growth. Even in stillness, something within us is moving toward wholeness. Every small step matters.

At Pohala Clinic, we honor your journey of ulu. Our integrative approach supports growth in body, mind, and spirit, helping you thrive in every season of life. 🌱💚

This week, let Ulu remind you that growth is always happening, even in quiet moments. Nurture it, trust it, and let it carry you forward.

10/23/2025

🚨 New BlogPost 🚨
"How Natural Medicine Can Improve Oral Health"

Oral health is vital for a healthy body as inflammation and pathogens from the mouth can affect systemic health. In the blog, Dr. Alex details periodontitis, common treatments, and explores adjunctive options like theobromine-based toothpaste for advanced oral care.

👉 Read the full article and start making the connection:

Oral health is vital for a healthy body as inflammation and pathogens from the mouth can affect systemic health. Dr. Alex details periodontitis, common treatmen

10/20/2025

🌊 Word of the Week: Moana 🌊

This week, we celebrate the Hawaiian word Moana, which means ocean, open sea, or expanse of water. The moana is vast, powerful, and life-giving. It connects islands, cultures, and people, serving as both a physical and spiritual pathway.

Moana refers to the deep ocean and the endless horizon. The ocean is not just water; it is a living force, a teacher, and a source of wisdom. It represents mystery, depth, and the interconnectedness of all life.

For Native Hawaiians and other Pacific peoples, the moana is central to identity and survival. It has guided navigation, provided sustenance, and shaped stories, chants, and traditions for generations. The moana reminds us to honor nature’s power and the relationships that sustain us.

✨ If you’ve seen the Disney film “Moana,” you’ve glimpsed this connection. The story captures the deep respect Pacific cultures hold for the ocean as both guide and companion.

The moana reflects the flow of life itself. Just as the tides rise and fall, healing ebbs and flows. Being near or connected to the ocean can calm the mind, and awaken the spirit. The sea holds space for reflection, renewal, and courage.

At Pohala Clinic, we honor the spirit of Moana by supporting journeys of healing that are both personal and connected to something larger. Like the ocean, your path may be wide and unpredictable, but it holds beauty and strength within its depths. 🌿🌊

This week, let Moana remind you to find peace in life’s rhythms and to draw strength from the vastness that surrounds you.

10/19/2025

Pohala is always collaborating with other NP-Led clinics - Voda who is owned by Chelsea and Keith Delselms shares a similar approach for Integrative Primary Care. We met up after the NPO conference and toured their clinic. They too are a husband /wife team. It was so nice to share our experiences, visions, and passions about how we imagine optimal healthcare for our patients. Truly inspiring.

10/19/2025

This is where I stayed while I attended the NPO conference. It’s a luxury BNB in Wine Country. People traveled from through out the US. Presentation was amazing. Check it out and support local businesses in Oregon.

10/19/2025

Nurse Practitioner’s of Oregon
Annual Conference
2025

A beautiful setting in Oregon’s Vineyard country 🍇

Key take aways—-

💉 GLPs are not only for weight loss or diabetes- yet preventing advancing dementia turning Alzheimer’s, preventing Heart Attack in at risk patients, menopausal puffiness, alcohol addiction. I can see how this medication is disrupting BigPharma because many patients come off other medications.

🍷 Alcohol Use Disorder- even small amounts on a regular basis is detrimental to one’s health. Naltrexone a great option along with GLPs to ease the addict brain noise.

❌ Sexual assault- always assess for strangulation, which is common and life threatening. First semester of college/ Autumn 🍂 is the Red Zone with the most incidents than other times of the year.

🫁 Long COVID- Many of the treatments I found early on that were considered too alternative are now mainstay. Whoop whoop💯.

Aside this I loved networking and chatting with long time colleagues and visioning the future of Pohala. 🌺

10/15/2025

✨ Word of the Week: ʻUhane ✨

This week, we reflect on the Hawaiian word ʻUhane, which means spirit, soul, or ghost. ʻUhane refers to the spiritual essence that gives life, the unseen energy that connects body, mind, and the world.

ʻUhane is often understood as the immortal spirit or the inner self. It is the part of us that feels, senses, and connects with others on a deeper level. In Hawaiian thought, the ʻuhane lives within the body but is also intertwined with ancestors, land, and the spiritual realm.

In Hawaiian culture, the ʻuhane is honored and cared for just as much as the physical body. Maintaining harmony between the spirit and the body is essential for overall health. Traditions, prayers, chants, and practices are often used to strengthen and protect the ʻuhane, ensuring balance within the individual and the community.

True healing involves nurturing the ʻuhane. Emotional and spiritual well-being, and a sense of purpose all flow from caring for our inner spirit. Whether through quiet reflection, connection to ʻāina, or meaningful relationships, tending to the ʻuhane restores balance and resilience.

At Pohala Clinic, we support healing that honors the whole person, including the ʻuhane. By weaving spiritual care into our holistic approach, we help create space for deeper healing and harmony. 🌿💚

This week, let ʻUhane remind you to listen inward, care for your spirit, and make time to nourish what lies beneath the surface.

10/11/2025

🏃 Goal completed ✔️

March 2024 I decided to include resistance training after working all my other ways (which btw didn’t work like they did before menopause). End of 2019 I turned 50 and this converged with the pandemic of intense expectations to keep our patients alive let alone keep our clinic Pohala open. What a super task. I got to go into menopause, and experience the pandemic at the same time. Like many healthcare workers I became adrenally fatigued. It was a culmination of years that arrived in the moment. I had always had nervous energy, overachieved, but as my late mentor Philip Incao said ‘well eventually your etheric forces will get used up unless you learn to settle yourself.’ Though I have a strong will I couldn’t really jog anymore. Low iron, prediabetes, borderline hypertension, high cholesterol I knew I was in trouble. My seemingly good habits couldn’t outweigh the stress I allowed myself to perceive. I say that because stress is only stress if you assign it as stressful.

Now I am learning through Endobiogeny that I was also experiencing at my worst Spasmophilia—— Episodes of blurred vision, dissociation, brain fog, extreme fatigue, gut dystonia. I called them ‘eye spells’ and they’d happen after adrenaline dumps. This condition may present differently with others but I see it’s probably a state a large percentage of individuals are living.

By 2023 I also learned the home we bought in 2017 was Mycotoxic. I thought I would pop out of my skin. We were told to move out and remediate. That was not an option financially. I worked closely with my Naturopath and Integrative NP and was able to make our bedroom safe and then got to work on our home and bodily treatments. My husband and 2 children at home all tested at toxic levels and were pretty sick. I just thought my symptoms were from menopause. I now know a lot about clearing out Mycotoxins.

I was fortunate to have many resources at my disposal. I happened to by the grace of God go to Hawaii several times and had a week of Ayurvedic Pacha Karma that allowed me to stay leading Pohala. This helped to physically, emotionally, and spiritually heal. My ND was surprised I was as functional given the reports. We all did a myriad of modalities, some simple and some not.

So now end of 2025 I still have low endorphins, and must watch how I spend my time. I’m not hypertensive, mold is cleared in my body, cholesterol is diet controlled only, and prediabetes is not hovering as strong. I was able to set a goal and jog a 10k today with my son, my gym bestie Melodie (btw she’s 75yo), and several other people I love out here in Estacada.

Mahalo to my number one guy, Michael. He would have done the race yet he’s been humbled by a partial knee replacement so running is a ‘no no.’ He cheered me on and hugged me at the finish line!