I’m so proud of myself. Today I had a green smoothie for breakfast. Inspired by the recipes in our Conscious Eating column, I got back on the veggie wagon and tossed my tried-and-true combination into the blender. In my experience, building healthy habits is the key to maintaining wellness and it turns out I’m not alone in my quest for a naturally healthy routine. “Haven’t we all at some time shifted to more healthy foods, enjoyed a massage, consulted with a chiropractor or naturopath, popped a vitamin C supplement or attended a yoga, Tai chi, qigong or Pilates class?” states Kathleen Barns in our article: Alternative Goes Mainstream. “If we’ve engaged in any of these activities, we are among the nearly two-thirds of Americans that use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies each year.”

Over the last decade these ancient practices have moved into the mainstream and Natural Awakenings has kept you informed with the latest in natural news. In your hands you hold our very special annual Natural Living Directory. This issue is your natural phone book; keep it year-round to easily access our community’s best natural living resources. The practitioners and businesses you’ll find in this directory are working hard to build a healthy community – be sure to call on them.

We just celebrated our 10 year anniversary. As I look back I can see that Natural Awakenings has grown to become the community’s multimedia resource for healthy living and a health planet. We offer online, mobile, and social media access to resources, informative articles, and events in our community. To keep easy access at your fingertips we’ve added our iPhone/iPad app that can be downloaded free at the iTunes store. And to bring you face-to-face with the products and services you love, we produce the Healthy Living Expo annually.

To help you connect with businesses and practitioners that offer alternative, complementary, and earth-friendly products and services we are building the Natural Awakenings Network (NAN). This innovative, cost-saving, green and healthy living network will have membership cards available soon. With this card members will enjoy discounts on products and services offered through NAN providers. Additional member benefits include an annual Natural Awakenings subscription, a newsletter, and access to NANs’ website and free customer service support. This national network will span the 88 Natural Awakenings territories including Puerto Rico.

Thank you for participating in our natural community and as a Natural Awakenings’ reader. Together we can help each other develop the healthy habits that last a lifetime.

Kris Urquhart, Publisher