Blake Kovner Email & Phone Number

Trained as a Primary Care Provider at Bastyr University, I am NABANE-certified in Naturopathic Medicine, Pharmacology and Minor Surgery. During my education, I underwent specialized and prolonged Naturopathic training in Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis and autoimmune disease management approaches. I practice Vitalism which to me means that the body's capacity to heal itself exists on a spectrum that is based on an integrative relationship between a person's internal and external environment. This form of constitutional medicine is informed by Western Herbalism, Ayurveda and German Biologic Medicine. My practice focuses on chronic disease and prevention. I use physiological, psychological and mechanical approaches that empower my patients to play a strong role in the restoration of their health in order to achieve wellness and prevent disease. Another way to describe my approach to health is to emphasize my clinical focus on the junction between the gut, the brain, the immune system and the endocrine system. Expanding on psycho-neuro-immunology I describe daily to patients, colleagues, friends and family that the gut/GI system is at the nexus. I go on to argue for the inclusion of the musculoskeletal and endocrine systems in this web and ultimately joke that the "head bone" is connected to the "toe bone" and everything in between. I then fold each individual's constitution (strength, resilience, energy level and sense of internal temperature) into the whole mix in order to achieve a true holistic approach.Believing that the gut and the brain are hardwired together, I employ Craniosacral Therapy whereby I help regulate a patient's nervous system so they can understand calm and begin to heal. Then I use and teach them Biofeedback techniques, primarily Heart Rate Variability, Autogenics, Functional Breath and Posture but also electromyography (EMG), thermal response and skin conductance. This teaches the patient to control their own nervous system.I'm a clinical herbalist, I employ the art and science of individualized botanical medicine formulation. I use food as medicine, education as medicine and time in nature along with allopathic and naturopathic approaches based on what is safe and indicated for each person. Prior to practicing medicine, I was a SLAM poet and an artist. I created the iconic Trade Street figure called, Sax Man in Winston-Salem, NC.