Bye Bye Back Pain (cont.)
Last week I wrote a post about kissing back pain goodbye. I was not finished when I finished! I have a few more thoughts and suggestions to offer.
Suggestions #2 and #4 I mentioned previously and I am re-writing; reminding you again of their healing virtues.
1. Stop doing whatever activity is disturbing your back health. This suggestion is sometimes easier said than done. For example, vacuum cleaning can be rough on the low back. Paying attention to body dynamics and how you actually push the vacuum cleaner (whole body push vs. pushing by bending from the waist, waist pushing creates and exacerbates the low back problem.)
2. Acupuncture helps to relieve the inflammation allowing the body to go back into alignment.
3. Yoga is an amazing whole body wellness tool and creates a good "aahhhh" feeling in the back. http://www.yoga-loft.org/ Yoga builds core strength: strength in both your abdominal and back muscles. This strength of core is a gift to your spinal health. Strong muscles support the spine and your whole body has better posture and carries you through life like a dance.
4. Chiropractic care helps to put the body back into alignment. Here in Potsdam, NY we have BodyWorks Chiropractic Care: http://www.potsdambodyworks.com/ Dr. Roy and his wife have a beautiful healing practice.
5. Ma-Roller: The MA Roller is a self-massage tool that gently stretches the spine and deeply massages the anti-gravity paraspinal muscles, like very deep-tissue work.
This tool helps to relieve pressure points and get the kinks out.
How to use the Ma Roller is explained quite well on the website link above.
I have one, I use it, and I love it.
6. Lumbar Extender: This little gem is great for returning the natural curve of the lower back relieving pain and inflammation created from incorrect posture (the low back bulging out instead of curving inward) and poor sitting habits.
The Lumbar Extender is used to help relieve chronic back pain, correct postural imbalances, restore the natural curvature of the back, and improve flexibility in shoulder and back muscles.
I have recommended this "back bender" many times over the years. It has helped relieve disk problems and avoid disk surgery.
Me, draped over my back soothing device.
I confess, I receive zero kickbacks for suggesting these products. You can find them on eBay and Amazon, new and used. Do not buy the knock off version of the Lumbar Extender called the Back Magic. The story is that the less expensive product is made with lower quality materials that have been known to break soon after purchase.
I have had the lumbar extender for 15 years; no damage, wear, or tear!
Cheers to a healthier back in 2015
Join the School of Self Healing to learn more health enhancing skills To place in your own medicine bag & use in your daily life and quest for vibrant health!
Click image above or one of the links below to learn more information and get Self-Healing today!
http://www.paulayoumellrn.com/buy-a-home-study-course-begin-the-self-healing-fun/
http://www.paulayoumellrn.com/school-of-selfhealing-welcome-page/
Coming Back to YOU!
BONUS DAY!
This is a paragraph excerpted from the current book I am reading that I found to profound:
"When we walk the labyrinth of our soul out from the center and back into the world, the key is to slow down and observe our minds, observe every single one of our decisions, observe what we say yes to and what we say no to, observe what we give our energy to. It is by slowing down that we become aware of how deep certain patterns have run and are able to steer our course in accordance with our newly established beliefs, with what we have come to know about ourselves. By slowing down we can build our inner clarity and strength to find our way out, leaving the shattered remains of our discarded path behind us." From Heart of the Labyrinth by Nicole Schwab, WomanCraft Publishing.
I share this here as we move into the holiday season. Why you ask? Because so many of us give in to the indulgences of the holidays, the constant buffets of not so healthy foods, excess sweet treats, and alcohol flowing freely. We set out with good intentions; plans to feed our body cells for health and healing, but something seems to get in the way.
When we open to soul, our inner light, grabbing at every treat offered no longer pulls at our reserves. When we align with spirit, our spirit, making choices based upon our wellness needs becomes second nature. No guilt, no feelings of deprivation, just blissful peace.
Question to ask yourself to bring peace when making holiday food & drink choices:
"Is this best for my wellness, will this best feed my body cells for health and healing?"
I wish you peace on your journey.
PS Don't forget about the FREE Holiday, Pamper Yourself Gifts!
This year I'm delighted to extend a personal invitation to you to join me and several healer women colleagues from around the globe, offering our most special and treasured tools, programs, and supports to help you stay feeling nourished, grounded, and energized throughout the holiday season.
The Happy Healthy Holiday Hamper is your very own store for everything you could possibly desire to support you this December. And the best part is, all of the programs, recordings, e-books, and workbooks we've collected are yours for free.
Receive all of your free holiday hamper gifts here: www.tinyurl.com/holidayhamper
Developing Our Personal Power
I took the words in the below two paragraphs, with permission, from Elissa Hayman's November blog post. Elissa is a spiritual healer from New Mexico. I was introduced to Elissa and her work by a fine, local lady and friend.
I was stopped in my tracks by the most fiery blaze of coppery gold color I ever saw, radiating off a long line of cottonwoods on the riverbank.
Someone else had stopped to admire them and we got to talking. He turned out to be an herbalist who lived in the nearby mountains. His renowned company, Dragon River Herbals, was on the scene in Santa Fe; they supplied doctors and health facilities with their high-quality, wild-crafted, organic products.
Through this herbalist, I learned something interesting about wild-crafted herbs: their medicine is so much more potent because in Nature, they go through a lot of stress. The plants' response to the natural stressors in their environment makes them produce more potent medicinal properties. The "fat cat" herbal plants grown in cultivation don't need to develop the inner strength necessary to BE strong medicine.
That's something to remember in November 2014, when it will behoove us to see challenges like a plant in the wild, as something that develops our powers.
I love these words. It is the wise woman teaching I do around the foods we eat, the herbal plant foods we use for medicine, and the way we cultivate personal power in our mind, body, and soul.
Organic foods have this magic about them as well! When food is grown organically, the food itself has to fend off foreign invaders. In this dance for survival, the organically grown food develops higher amounts of nutrients and develops nutrients that do not exist in conventionally grown agriculture's foods (because conventionally grown foods do not survive these natural stressors).
We are approaching the American holiday of Thanksgiving; a time to be grateful for all that we have and have experienced in life.
Life experiences are the building blocks of who you are as a being; your wild crafting as a human. Take a moment to express gratitude, every day, for your life and all the wild crafting that has made you grow stronger. Life experiences are powerful medicine!
Feed your body, mind, and soul well!
Gratitude for making it safely into the Supai Village in the Havasupai Home, the Indians of the Blue Waters. Gratitude for surviving the long and very, hot trail down into the canyon. Getting out was easy; we started at 4:30 AM and beat the sun out of the canyon!
Happy Thanksgiving with Love!
Herbal Recipe to Clean the Liver from Holiday Eating and Imbibing!
Simple Liver Nourishment Cleanse
Liver Nourishment: This is a very simple way to nourish the liver as it goes about its non-stop job of filtering your blood. Your liver is not “dirty.” Spending a few days focusing on nourishing this important organ is a good way to prevent disease and heal your body. Love your liver with good food, liver specific herbs, and relaxation. Oh yeah, did I mention fun and laughter? Anger is a toxin to the liver; let go of anger and revel in fun, love, and laughter.
Raw food fast for 3 days: lots of local and seasonal berries / fruit in AM with nuts and seeds and then vegetable salads and raw nuts and seeds at noon & PM meals.
***If pre-diabetic, diabetic, or you have any metabolic syndrome issues (where you need to not have high levels of blood sugar surging through your system) keep your intake of fruit conservative and eat more vegetables.
Raw root veggie and cabbage slaws are great in fall and winter for the raw, seasonal veggies.
AM liver flush before any food: juice of 1 whole lemon, 1-2 tsp olive oil, pinch of unrefined sea salt. You can use this simple liver flush in the PM and/or the AM.
I have clients who do it in the AM because they drink their Essiac detox tea at night.
Detox infusion: purchase an ounce of each of these herbs: cut burdock root, cut dandelion root, nettle leaf, dandelion leaf, and red clover blossom.
Each night heat 1 quart of water, stainless steel pot please. When water is simmering turn to very low heat and simmer 1 tsp. each of the burdock and dandelion roots for 10 minutes. This is a very gentle simmer with the cover on the pot.
After the ten minutes, shut off the heat and have 1 tsp. each of the dandelion, nettle, and red clover. Add to pot, stir to get wet and cover pot. Let it sit over night to steep, pot covered. Strain into quart canning jar in AM and drink 3-4 cups over the course of the day.
Relaxing habits when doing a liver nourishing cleanse: Plenty of fluids; lots of good, restful sleep, eating in a calm environment (without screens) and chewing very slowly and thoroughly, yoga, massage, relaxing by the fire or under a favorite tree (seasonally dependent behaviors!) while reading a good book…the point is to nurture the whole you and make your liver feel at peace and loved.
When to nourish the liver: Ideally 4 times a year at the spring and fall equinoxes and the summer and winter solstices. I recommend waiting past the Winter Solstice, after the December holidays, for obvious reasons!
Milk thistle is a good herb to take for liver nourishing and rebuilding. It can be added to the above dandelion, etc. herb tea. Milk thistle is a seed and needs to be added and simmer with roots and/or barks.
http://www.paulayoumellrn.com/making-herbal-infusions-teas/
Capsules, tinctures, teas of milk thistle are good options as a single herb or as a combination herbal formula with turmeric and perhaps ginger…
Taking milk thistle for a couple of weeks after a three day nourishing cleanse can help to nourish and rebuild the liver. You can make milk thistle into a tea with nettles. Again, simmer the milk thistle seeds, very gently for 10 minutes before adding the nettle leaves. Shut off the heat before you add nettle leaves and allow the herbs to infuse, covered, for at least 4 hours.
If you would prefer to do a more intense liver nourishing (that is pre-packaged for you, creating ease), go to this website: www.herbdoc.com and search under the 5 day detox programs for the liver cleanse. It is a very complete liver cleanse kit with a well written book explaining liver cleansing and its benefits to your health and longevity. Think of it as nourishing your liver, fortifying it with the nutrients it needs to do its blood filtering job well.
Dr. Schulze’s products are top of the line and use high quality herbs. They tend to be a bit more expensive but quality is quality.
You can do a more intense, longer, liver / organ cleanse by putting the materials together yourself and following the cleanse for more than 3 days
- Whole foods, raw
- Herbal teas
- Fresh made juices
- Lots of pure water (no chlorine and flouride from municipal water supply; both are toxins to body cells and your liver.)
- AM flush
If you have diabetic tendencies do not do a "juice or herbal tea" only liver cleanse. Eat food and keep your protein level up.
Need help? Give me a shout.
Hugs ARE Better Than Drugs!
Hugs have an amazing capacity to:
- bring peace
- soothe the soul
- ease tension and heal an argument
- infuse your life with love
- reduces cravings for sugar, sweets
- heal the human body, mind, and soul!
What exactly do hugs do that is so amazing?
Hugs promote the release of oxytocin, the love hormone. Oxytocin is the hormone that is releases when women give birth, when we nurse our infants, when we have loving sexual encounters, and at other happy times. When your body releases oxytocin the hormone has a calming, peaceful effect on your body because cortisol (think stress hormone) levels go down! This reduces stress and increases feelings of well-being in your world!
Lowering your stress levels through oxytocin and low cortisol levels helps to reduce blood pressure, boosts your immune function, dopamine levels go up (pleasure hormone), and serotonin levels rise (happy, feel good hormone). There is literally a ripple effect of health and mood enhancing biochemical effects that happen when we hug.
I once heard a natural healer compare the body's biochemical reaction to hugs like the reaction to the chemical cocktail ecstasy (a pleasure inducing street drug).
Seems to me that giving and receiving hugs is so much easier, no bad side effects, and readily available. Maybe we should start selling hugs on street corners! Just a thought.
Action to take:
- Get Hugging! It is good for your health and, if you need another reason, all the above health benefits of hugs help your body balance your weight. Give hugs, lose extra body weight!
- Get a massage. Human, healing touch releases oxytocin.
- Pat a friend on the back... oxytocin is released!
- Love up your pets. Pets like hugs too and you both benefit!
- Hug a tree!
Tell me your hug stories in the comments below.
People hugs are good!
Tree hugs too!
Holistic Healing Taste Testing
My latest Holistic Healing Taste Test has been with Jody Wallace. Jody is a Massage Therapist, Plant Spirit Medicine Healer, Atlas Balance Energy Healer, Ayurveda, and other forms of natural healing - body balancing techniques.
I had Jody do the Atlas Balancing sessions on my spine. I have to say I am impressed with the results on my long-term issues with sciatica and low back / hip aches. Jody also gives an impressive massage. I asked her to rub deeply as I prefer the deep tissue work. Her hands did an amazing job making my muscles and connective tissue feel the "aaahhhhh!"
Check out this space to find out more about Jody. Give her a call; you will be glad you did!
http://atlasbalancingusa.com/jody-wallace/
http://www.amtamassage.org/famt/jody http://jodywallace.amtamembers.com/jodys-story
Comments on your experiences are always welcome!
More on Ice Cream's Purpose, Rommegrot, & the Conversations We Start!
I love conversation with people (my pets too!). People have the most fascinating stories if we take the time to listen; ask questions and just listen. These stories truly are the fabric of life; weaving us together as a culture.
So I had this amazing Facebook message from a reader in regards to my Ice Cream's Purpose blog post.
I learned much about the history of a certain food: NORWEGIAN ROMMEGROT and this FB message started a conversation with a local person; those threads that weave us together as community with story telling. I think I need to return to the days of evening story telling around the fire!
Here is some of our conversation, the story!
Bryan: I felt compelled to respond to your secret of ice cream as I am a big fan of ice cream...perhaps it is in my blood; my ancestors in Norway loved cows and milk in all of its incarnations but their favorite was rumagrot (poor spelling but Norwegians have a slightly different alphabet). this was a mixture of heavy cream, milk and flour, generously sweetened, with the consistency of thick pudding. At any rate, I feel that ice cream, plain old simple ice cream, has to be a divine gift, necessary to our sustenance, to be indulged in not too infrequently.
But to get back on track, your secret of setting the freezer with an ice cream gauge sounds perfect!
Me: What a great story Bryan! Do you have a recipe for the Norwegian milk and flour thing? I will try and look it up.
Bryan: ROOMEGROT? I don't have a recipe and have never made it...my mother ate it and made it as a young girl, and assured me it was delectable...she grew up on a subsistence farm where wealth was measured by the fat of the land, and fresh cream was a daily companion...later she married my father, who was not a farmer, and lived in a small town where she started buying some of her food (what a change!) cream was too dear and so cream did not make it to the list of priorities...but she did make a version of rumagrot, which she affectionately called "mush", basically a porridge of milk and wheat flour, which is the basic structure or foundation upon which rumagrot is created. After it was cooked she would pour it out on plates where it would take the shape of a giant pancake, and put a pat of butter on top. We would sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on top and start eating around the edges where it cooled fastest, spiraling into the center where the butter sugar and cinnamon were concentrated for a very fine finish. Then we would lick our plates clean. We loved it! The day shone gold when we came in from a winter's day to sit down to our favorite supper meal of mas mush! Some years later, as a grown man, I was meandering through various conversations with my mother, and fondly reminiscing the above. I asked my mother why she no longer made mush. She said, "uffda, you liked that stuff?" (She never knew?) "I only made that when there was nothing left to eat." Ahhh...take me back to the realm of childhood!
I just LOVE this story, this conversation, and the magical things I learned as I looked up Norwegian history, Norwegian food history, etc.!
Of course, I had to make some, see below.
Here is my kitchen's rendition of this Norwegian food. Of course I made it with 100% whole food ingredients. I used whole grain rye flour.
My kids were ok with it. My oldest said it was quite good. My youngest, he is a picky 'lil eater, said he was not crazy about it. He has to eat something 3-4 times before he will decide to like or to hate it.
Me, I thought it was perfectly yummy!
The recipe I used:
(I did cut the recipe in 1/4 as the amounts seemed like a really big batch to me. It made the 2 dinner plates worth above with a little bit left for a smaller plate. The next time I make it, I will make 1/2 of the recipe.)
NORWEGIAN ROMMEGROT
1 qt. milk
1 c. half & half
1 c. butter
3/4 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. butter
Sugar & cinnamon
Heat milk and half and half; do not scorch; set aside.
In large, heavy pan, melt 1 cup butter and add flour, cook about 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
Pour in milk, cook, stirring frequently until mixture bubbles and thickens. Stir in sugar. Pour 1/4 cup melted butter on top. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Serve warm. Makes 1/2 gallon.
NOTE: This may be kept warm and served from a crock pot. Use low heat. Add butter, sugar and cinnamon after mixture is put in crock pot. Rommegrot is traditionally served at Christmas.
From: http://www.cooks.com/recipe/fw91j8hr/norwegian-rommegrot.html
PS Check out my upcoming webinar:
Starting January 5th, just in time to support vibrant, juicy health & healing in 2015! Enrollment information coming soon.
My Mission: Creating a healing wave that ripples from my Northern NY home out into the world. Healthier people create healthier families, communities, and the world as a whole!
Healing the Collective Mind, Body, & Soul!
Human… Heal thyself!
Healing literally means to make, return yourself, to whole–whole in mind, body, and spirit.
Healing is natural
I write this to remind everyone of their own innate ability to heal. Healing is the norm. If you cut your finger, it heals without intervention. Every part of your body is capable of healing if it is given what it needs to heal and thrive. This is a Vitalist philosophy of healing: healing comes through nature. You are nature; therefore, healing comes from within you and through you.
The responsibility to care for our bodies, to ensure lifelong health, prevent disease, and heal is ours. Healing is not about what you are giving up; it is not about deprivation. It IS about what you are inviting into your life: the choices, changes, and additions that will open doors to healing, health, and happiness in ways you may never have imagined or experienced.
Healing your own body is a supreme act of self-responsibility. It means taking control of aspects of your life that have often been left in the hands of the modern medical professional. “You are in the driver seat, Doc. I will do whatever you say.”
Self-responsibility would change the above statement to, “Thanks for being here to support me, Doc. This is how I plan to handle this health crisis.”
“If you don’t take care of your body, where are you going to live?” Unknown
Healing is a simple equation:
Remove the cause(s) of your health issue + add in healing choices = healing, returning to whole!
10 steps to start on your self-healing path:
- Remove the causes of your disease. If you are diabetic, this means removing sugar, in all its forms, from your diet. Lung disease? Stop smoking or exposing your body to the toxins creating the lung challenges. Find a healer who can help you with the task of discovering the causes of your health challenges.
- Add in whole foods. Whole foods heal the body by feeding your body cells with nutrients. Refined, factory made foods deplete the body of nutrients. You want to nourish the body, not deplete it.
- Add in herbs that heal the health challenges you are facing. Every organ system has herbs specific for healing that system. Herbs are whole foods. Herbs feed your body cells.
- Movement. Movement, daily exercise, increases circulation to every body cell. This brings more oxygen and more nutrients to each and every body cell. This IS healing! I call this Movement Magic! Increased circulation also removes the waste products, toxins, from each and every body cell. Again, this is healing!
- Movement Outside! Engaging in your daily movement outside has the added benefit of fresh air and natural light. Fresh air and natural light are amazing healing tools for every body cell. Both help your body to produce the hormones that balance the nervous system and create happy, feel good emotions. Feeling happy and emotionally balanced sends ripple effects of healing throughout your body to every cell.
“Just lift the corner of the clouds and the sun is always shining.” Eli Schechter
- Sleep. When we get to bed, to sleep, before 10 p.m. each night, our bodies work in rhythm with the earth’s circadian rhythm. This is poetry in motion; magic healing energy to your every body cell.
- Get plenty of juiciness in your life! Hydration is a must for keeping body cells working at their optimum levels. The internal structures, organelles, of each and every body cell need proper hydration to do their jobs. If your cellular structures are doing their jobs, your whole body is functioning at optimum performance. Your cells are your building blocks! Get your juiciness from pure water, herbal teas, and fresh produce every day.
- Juiciness in your emotional and spiritual life is also essential for health and healing. When we connect with people we love, who love us, when we have support in our lives, have people to tell “our stories” to, and have people we listen to as they tell their stories, we produce oxytocin. This is the feel good hormone, the hormone of love. Oxytocin is also the antagonist of adrenaline, the stress hormone. Oxytocin helps us to relax, release stress, feel love, and heal mind, body, and soul. Find some juicy friends in your life.
- Kindness. Create and live from a space of a healthy attitude toward yourself, all others on this planet, and life in general. Practice a kind attitude towards all, starting with you. Self-care, and its ripple effects for your health and how you perceive and interact with the world, cannot be emphasized enough.
- Energy Healing. Energy healing helps us to release blockages in our body’s internal energy system, the chakras and meridians. When life force energy flows freely to every body cell, this is healing energy. Find a form of energy healing that works for you and use it regularly to shift the healing, life force energy in your body. Energy healing to try includes acupuncture, acupressure, reiki, yoga, Tai chi, Qi gong, Tae kwon do, prayer, meditation, massage… to name but a few.
Taking one step at a time can create huge changes in your health, happiness, and vibrant longevity. Step up to your plate of health and healing today. Ask a holistic health coach for support on your healing path. This one action could bring some juiciness, oxytocin, into your self-healing equation.
See my bonus pages for more tips on incorporating healing changes into your juicy life!
Every person who self-heals adds one more healed being to the collective mind, body, and soul. These actions, in your personal life, make the world a better place for every living being.
Get healing and, please, tell me your story!
My Happy, Juicy, Life Announcement:
My next book... Early Morning Coffee & Donuts will be out before the end of this year, 2014. OK, so my fingers are crossed that all goes as planned with the publisher!
Are you chuckling yet? A book about coffee and donuts from Paula, seriously? Maybe, just maybe, it is more than you think it is.... read what it IS about here: http://www.paulayoumellrn.com/book-2/
Cheers of good health to you in mind, body, and soul!