Dr. Elizabeth (Liz) Cox, ND, L.Ac., has practiced integrative medicine in both Alabama and Mississippi for the past 20 years. Some of Dr. Cox’s colleagues and beloveds call her “Sarita,” a name given to her by her first meditation teacher, and she believes names have power and energy. Sarita is Sanskrit for river, flow, and fluent (as in speech).
Sarita Cox currently holds a professional license in both Oregon as a Naturopathic Doctor (ND) and Mississippi as a Licensed Acupuncturist (L.Ac.). She received her BS in English literature from the University of Alabama. Dr. Cox then completed her professional medical training at the National University of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon. In her clinical practice, acupuncture is the gateway to holistic living education and instruction. She is also a passionate educator of lifestyle medicine, including aspects such as diet/nutrition, work/life balance, lifestyle choices, community and of holistic health, integrating the mind, body and spirit. Dr. Sarita Cox has served as a clinic preceptor for undergraduates to postdoctoral fellows as well.
Some of her most satisfying achievements in medicine have involved creating a wellness clinic within a developing food forest on a piece of post-tornado land just 4 miles from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Ten years after the tornado, the driveway to the clinic is lined with heritage grapes, poppies, zinnias and cosmos. The parking lot is planted with blueberries, asparagus, onions and figs. There is a growing orchard of Asian persimmons, pears, Asian pears, apples, and elderberries. There are fields of herbs including American pokeweed and purple passionflower in summer, while other herbs and flowers brighten other seasons. The office is seasonally shaded by an arbor of golden and green kiwis, and the property, certified as a backyard habitat with the National Wildlife Federation, is filled with diverse wildlife including honeybees, deer, fox, birds, coyotes, rabbits, groundhogs, and armadillos.
Being a health care integrator in the South has been challenging and rewarding for Dr. Cox. Prior to Covid-19, she taught a weekly mindfulness class at a local internal medicine group and practiced acupuncture at the Indian Health Service hospital in Choctaw, Mississippi serving all Native Americans, primarily the Mississippi Band of the Choctaw Indians.
Over the past two years, Dr. Cox has maintained a streamlined practice of telemedicine, acupuncture and individualized Chinese herbal formulations. She has focused on guiding people back towards natural rhythms and the dynamic cycles of nature to optimize health and wellness via her clinical wisdom cards (www.elementwisdomcards.com). Dr. Cox has also volunteered at Habitat for Humanity, and this work has developed her understanding, practical skills and desire to improve housing in her own community. She organized community efforts to shut down and then purchase a meth house in her Alberta neighborhood and is renovating the property.
Dr. Cox also shares an interest in post-tornado regeneration, invasive species management (predominantly bamboo, kudzu and privet), sustainability and, most importantly for her, ease of maintenance. Because of her passion for regeneration and sustainable self-sufficiency, she built and lives in a tiny off-grid house over a spring on her property just a few steps from her clinic. She uses city water, propane for cooking and maintains a lead acid battery bank and a whole house generator for backup.
While the pandemic has been filled with many challenges, Dr. Cox feels as though she has also been gifted with the opportunity for personal and professional revision and change. A lifelong journey with plants has led her to study conservation biology and botany, and she has strengthened her connection to medicine and her collaborative efforts with Agroshare. Her role on the core team is multi-faceted, and she lends her broad spectrum of experience and knowledge about plants, medicine, and regenerative practices to the advancement Agroshare’s health goals.