It may seem unusual for a highly respected doctor to single out a line from an Aerosmith song as a source of inspiration. But Dr. Tieraona Low Dog, whose name reflects her Native American heritage, is not your typical M.D. The song, "Dream On," advises listeners to "Live and learn from fools and from sages."

"One just has to be awake to hear the messages, as teaching comes from so many places," she said. "I've learned from fools in my life and from sages." Those who fall into the latter category have ranged from grandmothers to martial arts instructors to highly acclaimed physicians she encountered in medical school.

Another quote that has shaped her life comes from a more literary source: the English novelist George Eliot, who wrote, "It's never too late to be what you might have been."

She took those words to heart when she made the decision to pursue a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine - at the age of 33.

It wasn't a decision made lightly, with a baby son, Mekoce, and husband at home. (Another child, her daughter Kiara, was born during her residency.) It was all the more remarkable for a woman who never graduated from high school. But while working as an herbalist in Las Cruces, N.M., she frequently had patients who needed antibiotics. Since she was unable to prescribe them, Low Dog said medical school just seemed like the next step. She had to complete an equivalency degree and then an undergraduate degree before she could apply to med school.

Her desire to become a doctor was somewhat ironic, as she had grown up believing in the power of self-healing. "It wasn't that there was an anti-doctor sentiment in our house," she explains. "It was simply that for most things you took care of yourself. There were a lot of folk remedies: You drank herbal tea, gargled with salt water, rubbed vinegar on your feet. My family believed if you let your body rest and slow down for a day or two when you're sick, most of the time you will just get better on your own.

Doorway to Strength
Of Lakota/Comanche and Anglo-American descent, Low Dog has been influenced by her exposure to the medicines of the Lakota, Navajo, and Oklahoma nations. A separate passion, practiced since the age of 17, has also been deeply influential.

"Marital arts train people to fight so they never have to," this third-degree Tae Kwon Do Black Belt claims. "The strongest people are the most gentle. It's only the weak who fight." Marital arts opened the doorway to Eastern philosophy and to traditional Chinese medicine, specifically acupuncture and herbal medicine. She enrolled in massage school as another way to heal, "and make money," she acknowledged, with a laugh. "People would come in with an ache in their neck or back and I could give them immediate relief. I did a fair amount of massage on the elderly and people in hospice care. Helping them as they are leaving this world while I was in my 20s; that was quite an experience."

On the other end of the spectrum, she witnessed the miracle of new life as she apprenticed with a midwife. "All of this was tied to the same underlying philosophical approach: hands-on natural healing, trusting one's body, and using medicine as it was needed," she said.

Low Dog is the consummate nature-lover. "I love plants, I love to garden, I love to hike, I like natural foods, I love nature. I think it is very healing. I had a horse as a teenager; always had dogs and cats." She grew up in a family that went camping and fishing. They lived all over the Midwest - Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska - and then moved to New Mexico when she was a teenager.

"The vast majority of my life was spent in New Mexico. My home is where my heart is and that's New Mexico. I love the people there, the architecture, the clothing, the mountains. There is no sky like the sky in New Mexico. Georgia O'Keefe spent most of her life there painting. There is something magical about northern New Mexico … not in a mystical way, in a beautiful way," she said.

Perhaps Low Dog's untraditional path has something to do with the fact that rebel blood runs through her veins. Her family, as her mother would point out to her as a child, is part Indian and part outlaw - related to the notorious Dalton Gang, an outlaw group that rode with Jesse James, robbing banks and trains.

Working on the Doctor-Patient Relationship
Today, she lives in Tucson, where she serves as education director for the Program in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, the program founded by Dr. Andrew Weil. "This has been a wonderful opportunity for me - to be able to help physicians talk to their patients about spirituality, their cultural or personal beliefs about wellness, about healing, about herbal use, or when to refer to an acupuncturist. We train 80 physicians and nurse practitioners a year; it may be a drop in the bucket but it's still having an impact. More physicians will be available across the country to be better doctors, to be more 'whole people.'"

One of her goals is to change how doctors relate to their patients. Nobody knows your body better than you do, she affirms, and before anything, a doctor needs to listen to your story. "With the high-tech, low-touch approach that's taught in most medical schools, we've sacrificed this crucial part of the doctor-patient relationship," she said. "Doctors interrupt a patient within 18 seconds of asking a question. We're busy asking questions because we're accustomed to working in an acute-care model. One of the things we advocate is more time with patients. Fifteen to 20 minutes should be the minimum."

This time is needed to foster a relationship between the patient and the practitioner, a relationship she calls "sacred." It is at the core of Low Dog's definition of integrative medicine, which goes beyond blending conventional and non-traditional medicine to meet the patient's physical, emotional, and spiritual needs.

In her mind, integrative medicine is also about prevention. "We should spend a lot more time, energy, and money on prevention rather than just trying to fix things when they are broken. The health care system is kind of backward."

Illness, she says, is an opportunity to witness the strength that lies within all of us. "Illness gives us a chance to look at the way we live our lives without guilt. Your body is very capable of healing itself with the right nutrition, the right medicines. Your body is amazingly adaptive," she said and cited the work of Carl Jung, founder of analytic psychology. "Illness allows us to look inward. Like Jung said, 'He who looks outside, dreams; he who looks inside, awakens.'"

Transitioning into Autumn
At 49, Low Dog finds herself at an "interesting point" in her life. "I've lived through my spring. I've lived through my summer, and now I'm starting to move into autumn and it's a wonderful feeling. We've done a lot in our culture to make women afraid of autumn; it is ridiculous to treasure summer and fear aging - the transitioning into more of our elder years."

With longevity in her genes, she may have a long autumn and winter ahead of her. It's not unusual for the women in her family to live past 100 - even up to the age of 108.

"This is the one time we will be here in this body in this way and we have to think about how we want to live this life. You're valuable, you're beautiful, and there are a lot of things you can do to give yourself an edge against getting sick and experience better well-being and optimal health."

Diet and exercise are key, she said. "Many will say, 'I'm working 60 hours a week. How can I exercise?' You have to make it a priority just like brushing your teeth every night. Exercise will help reduce one's risks for certain cancers, help maintain your weight, protect your bones, improve your risk for heart disease, and will help improve your mood."

Not only does Low Dog prescribe a whole food diet, but "sitting down at a table at least once a day and eating with a fork." She recommends - and follows - a diet based on plants and whole foods, herbs, and spices.

The other staple to a healthy life? Having no regrets. "At this moment," she says, "I am the product of every single moment that has ever come before. I love who I am. I love my life and consider it a blessing and a gift."

Practicing Medicine, Influencing Policy

In addition to her work as a clinician and educator, Dr. Tieraona Low Dog has been involved in national health policy and regulatory issues for more than a decade. In 2000, she was appointed by President Clinton to serve on the White House Commission of Complementary and Alternative Medicine and completed her three-year term in February 2007 as a member of the Advisory Council for the National Institutes of Health National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Her many honors of distinction include the 2007 Natural Products Association's Burt Kallman Scientific Award; Martina de la Cruz medal for her work with indigenous medicines; Time magazine's Innovator in Complementary and Alternative Medicine; and NPR's People's Pharmacy award.

Getting Healthy With Dr. Low Dog

• Get moving. Thirty minutes everyday. Walk, run, dance - just move. No excuses!
• Take a daily multiple vitamin designed for your age and gender. It should provide 70 percent to 100 percent of the Recommended Daily Intake of most vitamins and minerals. It's not a substitute for healthy eating; think of it as an insurance policy for those days you don't get all the nutrients you should.
• Omega 3's are important for heart and brain health. Eat fish one to two times per week or take 1 gram per day of a good omega 3 supplement.
• Get in your eight hours. If you are having trouble sleeping, avoid caffeine after 2 p.m., avoid alcohol, or limit intake to one serving with dinner, keep room dark and cool (67 F).
• Eat five to seven servings of fruits and vegetables every day. They are rich in disease-fighting phytochemicals, high in fiber, low in calories, and delicious!
• Make "you" a priority this year. Think of how great you feel when you are physically fit, mentally strong, and spiritually whole.

Speaker and Meeting Planner

Dr. Low Dog knows a thing or two about conferences. She speaks at about 40 a year, addressing a variety of groups. Her topics vary but the underlying theme is always optimal health.

Dental conferences impress her as being the best run, because of their all-inclusive nature. "There are tracks for the hygienists, the receptionists, the dentists, and their families," she explained. "By closing the office and all going together, it's an efficient way to build a team mentality and energize everyone," she said. "None of the medical conferences I've attended have had this team approach."

She considers it a privilege to address groups of fellow physicians. Before she gave the keynote speech for the Cleveland Clinic, one of the organizers nervously told her that some in this conservative group may associate herbs with quackery.

Yet, after she finished her presentation, the skeptical group gave her a standing ovation. "Doctors came up to me, many of whom had tears in their eyes, and said, 'I've never heard anything like that. Thank you.'

"It's quite a wonderful feeling to be able to touch people," she continued. "To help physicians feel good about who they are and to help them remember why they went into medicine to begin with. It feels good to have someone remind you of how sacred your work is."

Low Dog also has a "side job" as conference planner. The University of Arizona Program in Integrative Medicine hosts an annual nutrition and health conference that has grown each year. A highlight is a nutrition and health public forum that becomes an "event." It features Dr. Andrew Weil, founder and director of the Program in Integrative Medicine, and other prominent presenters.

"We make sure healthy food is served that tastes good, and that there is a nice array of speakers. It's not just great talks and great speakers but it has to be held in a pleasant environment that makes it feel like a mini-retreat," explained Low Dog, who has warmed to her new role as meeting planner.

Andrea Doyle is Convene's senior writer. The Leading by Example series is sponsored by the Canadian Tourism Commission. Visit its Web site at www.meetings.canada.travel.