Holiday wellness tips are essential as we navigate the season of gatherings, travel, and indulgence. Feeling stressed about upcoming family dinners or worried about digestive issues from all those holiday treats? You're not alone! 

Join Jenn Trepeck on Salad with a Side of Fries as she chats with Dr. Haley Parker, a doctor of East Asian Medicine and licensed acupuncturist, about practical ways to handle holiday stress management without losing your mind. Together, they explore how ancient wisdom meets modern holiday stress management, offering actionable advice on everything from improving sleep hygiene to supporting your immune system through seasonal changes and managing those inevitable digestive health challenges that come with festive feasting. Whether you're dreading Thanksgiving dinner drama, worried about fitting into your jeans after all those parties, or just trying not to catch every bug going around, we've got you covered. 

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

✅ How East Asian Medicine and acupuncture benefits can help manage holiday stress management, from dealing with family dynamics to maintaining your mental health wellness during the busiest time of year.

✅ Practical holiday wellness tips for preventing and treating digestive health issues like bloating and food stagnation, including herbal medicine remedies and lifestyle adjustments that support your body through festive feasting.

✅ Why rest and recovery are an active state and how to work with your body's natural circadian rhythm during seasonal changes, plus strategies for supporting your immune system to avoid getting sick during the holidays.

✅ The connection between seasonal affective disorder and your body's mammalian need to slow down in fall and winter, along with stress relief techniques like journaling and mindfulness practices that help you tune into what your body actually needs.

The Salad With a Side of Fries podcast, hosted by Jenn Trepeck, explores real-life wellness and weight-loss topics, debunking myths, misinformation, and flawed science surrounding nutrition and the food industry. Let’s dive into wellness and weight loss for real life, including drinking, eating out, and skipping the grocery store.

TIMESTAMPS:  

00:00 Introduction to East Asian Medicine with Dr. Haley Parker 

05:19 Dr. Haley shares her journey from Division 1 athlete to acupuncturist, and how chronic pain led her to explore integrative medicine and whole-person healthcare approaches 

09:28 Defining East Asian Medicine as an umbrella term encompassing nutrition therapy, herbal medicine, manual therapy, acupuncture and the importance of rightful thinking

12:49 Understanding holiday stress management through the lens of seasonal changes and how our bodies were meant to function, and a discussion of digestion issues

20:11 Holiday wellness tips for managing family dynamics and stress during gatherings, including the importance of self-care routines, journaling, and approaching situations with compassion and grace

22:07 Sleep hygiene strategies for the holidays, including power naps for nervous system regulation, balancing caffeine intake, and maintaining stable blood sugar 

24:03 Practical digestive health advice for holiday meals, using an algebraic equation approach to balance indulgence with movement, hydration, and mindfulness practices around eating habits

28:21 How humans, as non-hibernating mammals, struggle during seasonal transitions, plus the importance of eating seasonally to support organ systems and why rest and recovery are an active state essential for health

35:57 Mental health wellness strategies, recognizing stress patterns, and becoming a better practitioner of self-care routines 

39:57 How to find a qualified acupuncture practitioner, tips for choosing someone who resonates with you and fits your lifestyle for consistent integrative medicine care

41:56 Everyone experiences holiday stress management challenges and supporting others through difficult times to create mental health wellness and healing conversations

KEY TAKEAWAYS: 

💎 East Asian Medicine views the fall season as a time of grieving and letting go, which explains why many people struggle with seasonal affective disorder and increased stress during the holidays—our bodies naturally want to hibernate while modern life demands we rev up for parties and gatherings while maintaining our momentum from warmer seasons. 

💎 Digestive health during the holidays requires balance like an algebraic equation: if you're adding more indulgent foods and sitting, you need to add movement, water, and mindfulness practices to keep your system functioning well and prevent food stagnation.

💎 Rest and recovery are an active state essential for immune system support—your body will find equilibrium one way or another, either through intentional rest or by forcing you to get sick. Hence, you must slow down and recuperate.

💎 The body speaks in symptoms across mental, emotional, and physical planes before manifesting serious health issues, making self-care routines like journaling and meditation crucial stress relief techniques for catching problems early on and not waiting until they have progressed. 

ABOUT THE GUEST: 

Dr. Haley Parker, DAcCHM, Dipl. EAM (East Asian Medicine), Director of Clinical Operations at Virginia University of Integrative Medicine

Dr. Haley Parker is a multi-state licensed Doctor of East Asian Medicine and acupuncturist, holding licensure in Florida, New York, Virginia, Georgia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., New Mexico, and New Jersey. She is a Diplomate in East Asian Medicine certified by the National Certification Board for Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine (NCBAHM). 

In 2021, Haley joined the Virginia University of Integrative Medicine (VUIM), where she now directs external and clinical operations across Virginia, New Jersey, and Georgia campuses. In this capacity, she advances integrative clinic systems, community outreach, and academic–clinical alignment.

A former Division I athlete at UVA, Haley’s athletic background deeply informs her evidence-informed, performance-oriented clinical approach—supporting student-athletes, optimizing sports-related performance and re-entry, and addressing psycho-emotional wellness. Her early career included residencies at El Gancho Racquet & Fitness Club in Santa Fe and working aboard Princess Cruise Lines, where she honed her ability to teach acupuncture in acute-care and wellness contexts.

Haley has always embraced teaching and mentorship. She joined VUIM’s faculty to teach practice management and clinical communication and continues to shape curriculum and share expertise through seminars, media, and publications. She currently serves on the NCBAHM Professional Ethics & Disciplinary Committee and is an appointee to the Virginia Board of Medicine’s Acupuncture Advisory Committee. Additionally, she is a board member of the Acupuncture Society of Virginia, advocating for the field and influencing policy and professionalism.

Through her leadership, she fosters the integration of East Asian Medicine into whole-person healthcare models, builds bridges among academia, practitioners, and the community, and advances the profession's visibility and legitimacy. She remains passionately committed to teaching, patient care, student mentorship, and growing the profession through outreach, media and scholarly communication.

 RESOURCES: 

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Text ‘Book’ to 833-801-0500

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GUEST RESOURCES: 

VUIM Clinic - Website

Dr. Haley Parker - LinkedIn

Haley Parker (@dr.haley.vuim) • Instagram

VUIM Clinic - Instagram

QUOTES: 

12:38 "There are these tools of herbs and acupuncture and on and on, but also lifestyle is inherently part of this approach." - Jenn Trepeck

15:46 "The holiday season and the indigestion or the foods that come up are likely not our everyday choices." - Jenn Trepeck

20:25 "I find that self-care is something we throw around a lot, but we're not necessarily recognizing what that is. Self-care is going easy on yourself or taking what you need to be able to present a better version of yourself." - Dr. Haley Parker

27:36 "We get into our routines and we know what our plan is, and then we are out of our routines, and then the changes to the routine can make us feel very much out of sorts." - Jenn Trepeck

30:50 "My brother had to teach me that REST is an active state. I thought it was so profound, in this lifetime we're all learning to be better doctors of ourselves." - Dr. Haley Parker

35:50 "The more we tune into our body’s signals, we start to pay attention to the whisper before it gets to the scream." - Jenn Trepeck

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