Friday, March 28, 2014

I'm Back, It's Spring and "All Is Well"

After a few months' hiatus, I am back to writing for the well-being of myself and YOU, my audience or shall I say, my very well thought of and cared about people in my life. The past number of months have been a whirlwind, or maybe even a tornado! After my mom passed away in October, my health took a nose-dive for a few months. I had been diagnosed with chronic lyme in addition to hairy cell leukemia and boy, I did not feel well! I began exploring the lyme world and was introduced to a wonderful clinician who was referred to me by both an allopathic doc and an alternative colleague - the best of both worlds! I quite expected that I might experience yet another "healing crisis" or shall we say feeling worse before feeling better, and of course this was very true. Late in December while at the bottom of the barrel, I learned that I needed to sell my home sooner than I had anticipated due to my shorter work hours and less income. Immediately I thought about making sure my kids would feel okay with the rapid changes, that my patients would be taken care of and that my colleagues would have adequate information to continue referring to me or to my other esteemed nutrition colleagues. How interesting that I did not flinch for a moment about me, but was ready to dive into my oh so comfortable caregiver role! This role has both a positive and a negative side to it - being able to focus on others means you do not have to feel your own anger, sadness, pain, fear - how nice, BUT, those feelings get locked into our very cells, our being, our cognition - to be dealt with at a later date. Speed on up to now - we have all moved, love our new habitats and are adjusting, but not without some cost. I would say that our family has learned to operate on getting into priority mode, checking off the list, being efficient - and while this is very helpful during times of stress, the feelings and some physical manifestations come a little later. We've had some of that, but in the grand scheme of things, we are also so much more aware of this mind-body connection and pay attention to the multiple levels of symptoms and manifestations. "All is well" is a term that I have come to use on my own and as well as with one of the folks that I work with energetically. When I feel stress, anxiety or physical discomfort, I allow myself to feel the feelings, but also look to nature to really acknowledge that all is well. The birds do not fret over money; my dog, Tammie, does not worry about being fed. Nature has a way of reminding us that life goes on, that each moment is precious and that what we conjure up in our heads is just that - thoughts in our heads. I also find that yoga and breathing keep me very connected to this inner (and outer) feeling of peace. The breath-work, the postures, all open us up for being in the moment, knowing in our hearts, that "All Is Well"! Watch for tomorrow's blog on a delicious new paleo breakfast - photo as well! Namaste, Julie