The Yeast - Irritable Bowel Syndrome Connection
by Christine Fadhley, author of Curing Irritable Bowel Syndrome using Natural Holistic Therapies.
For as long as humanity has been around, yeasts have played an important role in our lives. We love our yeasts. We love the wine and beer that is formed when yeast converts sugars into alcohol. We love springy soft loaves that rise due to yeast’s ability to convert starch into carbon dioxide bubbles.
Yeast (technical name Saccharomyces cerevisiae), is a microscopic single-celled fungus that occurs naturally in the environment. We find it on fruits such as grapes and plums, appearing as a whitish bloom. In fact, there are approximately 1,500 strains of yeast, some of which are highly beneficial to health and wellbeing, but others that can be extremely harmful under certain circumstances. One particular strain, Candida Albicans, can have a devastating effect on health.
Over a decade ago, just after I had trained as an acupuncturist, I learned about such yeasts the ‘hard way’. The right - or possibly I should say the wrong set of circumstances came together and I found my health deteriorating in many unpleasant ways.
I was experiencing chronic fatigue, bloating, unusual bowel movements, increased sensitivity to pollen and pollution - and that was just the beginning. I developed ‘restless legs’ which is now so prevalent that it has been elevated to a ‘Syndrome’. I had the most awful insomnia; even if I did manage to get a proper night’s sleep I’d wake up feeling totally exhausted.
Through the help of a friend who is a Kinesiologist I was started on the road to recovery. She explained that my tendency to bloat after meals indicated that I was probably experiencing food intolerances. She did some testing and found that I was intolerant to a long list of foods. Once I started omitting those foods I started to feel somewhat better.
As a way of thanking my friend and helping my own patients, I would refer the most enigmatic of them to her. She found that many had multiple intolerances to foods and beverages and when they cut out those foodstuffs, they too started to feel better. The improvements were so impressive that I decided I would have to get myself trained in Kinesiology so that I could do my own food intolerance testing.
In the meantime, I was still feeling unwell, but not quite as unwell as before changing my diet. My weight was still increasing and I had extremely low energy levels to the point that I couldn’t work for a period. It became apparent that I was still ill and that there was more I needed to know. I discovered that what I was experiencing had a label - Irritable Bowel Syndrome. There were many articles about it in the media but nobody seemed to know the causes or cures.
Then I had a really lucky break; I was in the right place at the right time. The right place was in Bristol, UK. I was attending a course under the tutelage of senior members of the Kinesiology Federation. The right time was the day that an experienced Kinesiologist was visiting the course and tested me, informing me that my problems were caused by something called Candida albicans.
On returning home after the course, I did quite a lot of research on Candida albicans. I discovered that it is a strain of yeast that normally exists in small quantities within the gut along with 2-4 Kg of beneficial bacteria.[1] I learned about the need to have a healthy colony of beneficial ‘flora’ to keep the gut working efficiently and that the balance of beneficial and non-beneficial gut flora can be disturbed when we ingest chemicals in our food and drink.
Moreover, some medications (antibiotics, hormones, steroids[2]) kill off the beneficial bacteria but don’t harm the yeasts. I also discovered that the overgrowth of Candida Albicans in the gut has many quite serious implications for the health. In fact everything that I read confirmed that my Kinesiologist friend was 100% correct in diagnosing Candida albicans as the root of my problems.
I read[1] that Candida albicans may, under certain conditions, change from being a single cell organism and start to bud and grow root-like structures[3] that can burrow into the lining of the gut. As the gut lining becomes increasingly perforated this creates a condition which has become known as ‘Leaky Gut Syndrome’.
Once the lining of the gut is breached in this way, molecules of food can then pass into the bloodstream prompting the immune system to create antibodies. Subsequently, on eating that food, a reaction will occur and over time more intolerance responses (e.g. bloating and diarrhea) will manifest.
Those who suffer from IBS know that there are a wide range of unpleasant responses including nausea, gas, abdominal cramps and urgency to evacuate. Over time the health can be yet more seriously affected causing chronic fatigue, insomnia, restless leg syndrome, toxicity related skin conditions, and general debility.
Looking at my own very strange pencil-diameter stools, I could see that they contained a lot of mucous. I read that this was secreted by my gut in order to protect itself from inflammation.[1] This mucous was also stopping me from absorbing essential nutrients causing poor healing, fuzzy head, thinning hair and low energy levels.[2]
I recently attended a seminar given by a stool testing company[2] who confirmed that Candida albicans creates toxins as it ferments within the gut. These toxins can be deposited in the joints causing ‘arthritis like’ aches and pains, and can also cause obesity through a compromised elimination system.
Fortunately I was also able to find out how to cure the above symptoms, many of which I was already experiencing. Using the information obtained through my research, I was able to reverse the process and slowly but surely I regained my health.
By then I was a fully qualified Kinesiologist and was able to start treating my own clients professionally. I had a steady stream of people coming to see me as the word went round that their digestive disturbances, so resistant to the efforts of their GP, could be helped and cured. Family members who had recovered would tell their relatives, office workers would tell their colleagues, and as a therapist it was very satisfying to get such consistently positive results from one’s work.
Kinesiology is poorly understood in the West and consequently I have seen some very scathing reviews written by very ill informed critics. I was tempted to explain how it works here, but space doesn’t permit in this article, so suffice it to say that it is a testing method based on Chinese Medicine principles, and far from being ‘New Age’, has been around for at least two thousand years.
I was astounded by the power of this method which enabled me to test my clients for food intolerances - essential in speeding recovery - with great accuracy. I’m grateful that with it I’ve been able to help many people to overcome IBS just as I did myself.Being a recovered IBS sufferer meant that I understand the condition ‘from the inside out’. I realized when clients came with multiple complaints, that their symptoms were linked to a common cause - Candida albicans yeast. I also came to understand just how far reaching this problem is in Western society. Over the years of treating people, I developed a simple and natural method to help my clients overcome IBS.Recently my eBook, Curing Irritable Bowel Syndrome using Natural Holistic Therapies was published as a downloadable self-help guide which will hopefully take this essential and life changing information to a much wider audience.
Using simple non-technical language, I explain how IBS occurs and how to cure it using natural low tech and inexpensive means. I have included an IBS Action Plan to help people to navigate their way back to full health. I have also described Kinesiology in detail for those who want to understand how it works. Through using the information in the book, I am hopeful that many more people will conquer Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and will enjoy a better state of health both now and in the future.
References
1. Chaitow L. Candida Albicans (A non-drug approach), Thorsons, London & San Francisco, ISBN (UK) 0-7225-3343-8and (USA) 9-780722-533437. 1999.
2. Lane, J., Biological Testing Services Course Notes, Higher Nature Symposium, Birmingham, UK. July 2010.
3. Some electron scanning microscope images of sprouting Candida Albicans: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC248672/pdf/jbacter00371-0298.pdf
A Poignant Grief Poem
A Poignant Grief Poem
With opening comments by grief counselor Marty Tousley, author of the First Year of Grief
This beautifully crafted poem ~ a stunning and vivid description of raw grief ~ was written by award-winning author Ellen Bass, who teaches poetry and creative writing in Santa Cruz, California. In a recent interview on NPR with Voices In the Family’s Dan Gottlieb, Ellen said the poem “came from a time of great despair and personal suffering” in her life. Still, it strikes a universal chord, and in the end sends a message of hope that resonates with anyone who has experienced overwhelming loss.
The First Year of Grief: Help for the Journey
The bereaved are guided and supported through the grief process in this grief-healing e-course.
The Thing Is | Ellen Bass
to love life, to love it even
when you have no stomach for it
and everything you’ve held dear
crumbles like burnt paper in your hands,
your throat filled with the silt of it.
When grief sits with you, its tropical heat
thickening the air, heavy as water
more fit for gills than lungs;
when grief weights you like your own flesh
only more of it, an obesity of grief,
you think, How can a body withstand this?
Then you hold life like a face
between your palms, a plain face,
no charming smile, no violet eyes,
and you say, yes, I will take you
I will love you, again
A Heart-Opening Story: A Father, Daughter and a Dog
Healing Whispers: Communication with Your Spirit Guides and Angels
Within this course, you are invited to explore ways you may use your innate intuitive gift to communicate with your spirit guides, angels, and deceased loved ones. You may be delighted to discover how easily you can cross the spiritual bridge between worlds and enrich your life with love, guidance, healing, and wisdom. Intuition is a Divine gift, and communication with your spirit guides and angels may be enhanced by “fine-tuning” your psychic intuition. It can serve as a guiding force in your daily life. [Learn more]
~ My mother-in-law forwarded this beautiful story to us. We are unsure if it is a true story or of the original source but we thought it is worth sharing as it contains inspiring and valuable messages. We hope you agree.P.S. Get your tissues handy.A Heart-Opening Story: A Father, Daughter and a Dog
By Catherine Moore
“Watch out! You nearly broadsided that car!” My father yelled at me. “Can’t you do anything right?”
Those words hurt worse than blows. I turned my head toward the elderly man in the seat beside me, daring me to challenge him. A lump rose in my throat as I averted my eyes. I wasn’t prepared for another battle.
“I saw the car, Dad. Please don’t yell at me when I’m driving.”
My voice was measured and steady, sounding far calmer than I really felt.
Dad glared at me, then turned away and settled back. At home I left Dad in front of the television and went outside to collect my thoughts…. dark, heavy clouds hung in the air with a promise of rain. The rumble of distant thunder seemed to echo my inner turmoil. What could I do about him?
Dad had been a lumberjack in Washington and Oregon. He had enjoyed being outdoors and had reveled in pitting his strength against the forces of nature. He had entered grueling lumberjack competitions, and had placed often. The shelves in his house were filled with trophies that attested to his prowess.
The years marched on relentlessly. The first time he couldn’t lift a heavy log, he joked about it; but later that same day I saw him outside alone, straining to lift it. He became irritable whenever anyone teased him about his advancing age, or when he couldn’t do something he had done as a younger man.
Four days after his sixty-seventh birthday, he had a heart attack. An ambulance sped him to the hospital while a paramedic administered CPR to keep blood and oxygen flowing.
At the hospital, Dad was rushed into an operating room. He was lucky; he survived. But something inside Dad died. His zest for life was gone. He obstinately refused to follow doctor’s orders. Suggestions and offers of help were turned aside with sarcasm and insults. The number of visitors thinned, then finally stopped altogether. Dad was left alone.
My husband, Dick, and I asked Dad to come live with us on our small farm. We hoped the fresh air and rustic atmosphere would help him adjust.
Within a week after he moved in, I regretted the invitation. It seemed nothing was satisfactory. He criticized everything I did. I became frustrated and moody. Soon I was taking my pent-up anger out on Dick. We began to bicker and argue. Alarmed, Dick sought out our pastor and explained the situation. The clergyman set up weekly counseling appointments for us. At the close of each session he prayed, asking God to soothe Dad’s troubled mind.
But the months wore on and God was silent. Something had to be done and it was up to me to do it.
The next day I sat down with the phone book and methodically called each of the mental health clinics listed in the Yellow Pages. I explained my problem to each of the sympathetic voices that answered in vain.
Just when I was giving up hope, one of the voices suddenly exclaimed, “I just read something that might help you! Let me go get the article.”
I listened as she read. The article described a remarkable study done at a nursing home. All of the patients were under treatment for chronic depression. Yet their attitudes had improved dramatically when they were given responsibility for a dog.
I drove to the animal shelter that afternoon. After I filled out a questionnaire, a uniformed officer led me to the kennels. The odor of disinfectant stung my nostrils as I moved down the row of pens. Each contained five to seven dogs. Long-haired dogs, curly-haired dogs, black dogs, spotted dogs all jumped up, trying to reach me. I studied each one but rejected one after the other for various reasons too big, too small, too much hair. As I neared the last pen a dog in the shadows of the far corner struggled to his feet, walked to the front of the run and sat down. It was a pointer, one of the dog world’s aristocrats. But this was a caricature of the breed.
Years had etched his face and muzzle with shades of gray. His hip bones jutted out in lopsided triangles. But it was his eyes that caught and held my attention. Calm and clear, they beheld me unwaveringly.
I pointed to the dog. “Can you tell me about him?” The officer looked, and then shook his head in puzzlement. “He’s a funny one. Appeared out of nowhere and sat in front of the gate. We brought him in, figuring someone would be right down to claim him. That was two weeks ago and we’ve heard nothing. His time is up tomorrow” He gestured helplessly.
As the words sank in I turned to the man in horror. “You mean you’re going to kill him?”
“Ma’am,” he said gently, “that’s our policy. We don’t have room for every unclaimed dog.”
I looked at the pointer again. The calm brown eyes awaited my decision. “I’ll take him,” I said. I drove home with the dog on the front seat beside me. When I reached the house I honked the horn twice. I was helping my prize out of the car when Dad shuffled onto the front porch… “Ta-Da! Look what I got for you, Dad!” I said excitedly.
Dad looked, and then wrinkled his face in disgust. “If I had wanted a dog I would have gotten one. And I would have picked out a better specimen than that bag of bones. Keep it! I don’t want it” Dad waved his arm scornfully and turned back toward the house.
Anger rose inside me. It squeezed together my throat muscles and pounded into my temples. “You’d better get used to him, Dad. He’s staying!”
Dad ignored me. “Did you hear me, Dad?” I screamed. At those words Dad whirled angrily, his hands clenched at his sides, his eyes narrowed and blazing with hate. We stood glaring at each other like duelists, when suddenly the pointer pulled free from my grasp. He wobbled toward my dad and sat down in front of him. Then slowly, carefully, he raised his paw.
Dad’s lower jaw trembled as he stared at the uplifted paw Confusion replaced the anger in his eyes. The pointer waited patiently. Then Dad was on his knees hugging the animal. It was the beginning of a warm and intimate friendship. Dad named the pointer Cheyenne. Together he and Cheyenne explored the community. They spent long hours walking down dusty lanes. They spent reflective moments on the banks of streams, angling for tasty trout. They even started to attend Sunday services together, Dad sitting in a pew and Cheyenne lying quietly at his feet.
Dad and Cheyenne were inseparable throughout the next three years. Dad’s bitterness faded, and he and Cheyenne made many friends. Then late one night I was startled to feel Cheyenne’s cold nose burrowing through our bed covers. He had never before come into our bedroom at night. I woke Dick, put on my robe and ran into my father’s room. Dad lay in his bed, his face serene. But his spirit had left quietly sometime during the night.
Are You Facing The Loss Of A Beloved Pet?Explore both the myths and the realities surrounding the experience of pet loss, including why it hurts so much and how it differs from other losses in the Self Healing Expressions email course
Coping with Pet Loss.
Two days later, my shock and grief deepened when I discovered Cheyenne lying dead beside Dad’s bed. I wrapped his still form in the rag rug he had slept on. As Dick and I buried him near a favorite fishing hole, I silently thanked the dog for the help he had given me in restoring Dad’s peace of mind.
The morning of Dad’s funeral dawned overcast and dreary. This day looks like the way I feel, I thought, as I walked down the aisle to the pews reserved for family. I was surprised to see the many friends Dad and Cheyenne had made filling the church. The pastor began his eulogy. It was a tribute to both Dad and the dog that had changed his life.
And then the pastor turned to Hebrews 13:2. “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.”
“I’ve often thanked God for sending that angel,” he said. For me, the past dropped into place, completing a puzzle that I had not seen before: the sympathetic voice that had just read the right article; Cheyenne’s unexpected appearance at the animal shelter; his calm acceptance and complete devotion to my father and the proximity of their deaths. And suddenly I understood. I knew that God had answered my prayers after all.
Life is too short for drama or petty things, so laugh hard, love truly and forgive quickly. Live While You Are Alive. Forgive now those who made you cry. You might not get a second time.
And if you don’t share this with at least 4 people, nobody cares. But do share this with someone. Lost time can never be found.
God answers our prayers in His time…not ours.
Who are Your Cheerleaders?
By Rev. Richard Adinolfi ©
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These are the people who empower us to be all that we were meant to be. Their sincere interest in us and belief in us enables us to believe in ourselves all the more, and fires us up with the enthusiasm that propels us farther on to victory.
During the early stages of our life, and hopefully from one decade to the next, our parents are the first to cheer us on to crawl, and then to stand, and to walk, and to run, and to have fun. Then, to read and write, and master one subject of interest after another whether it be in academics, industry, science, the arts, or athletics and sports.
Then, throughout our life others come to cheer us on. There are teachers and coaches, trainers and instructors who make a special effort to lift us up when we are down, and give us the spirit to move on from one accomplishment to greater heights of achievement.
May you also be blessed with a significant other, a spouse, or with a special friend or relative, who delight in your interests and plans and cheers you on? They greatly enhance the joy of living.
For your own edification, be a cheerleader to others, and bond with those who cheer you on.
© Excerpt from Divine Living: Practical Advice for a Lifetime.
Rev. Richard Adinolfi, a beloved minister and former radio broadcaster, is the author of Divine Living: Practical Advice for a Lifetime. Also, a certified Massage Therapist (his second career) he is the author of Self-Massage Plus: Caring for Your Aching Muscles and More.
Angel Meditations
Healing Whispers: Communication with Your Spirit Guides and Angels
Within this course, you are invited to explore ways you may use your innate intuitive gift to communicate with your spirit guides, angels, and deceased loved ones. You may be delighted to discover how easily you can cross the spiritual bridge between worlds and enrich your life with love, guidance, healing, and wisdom. Intuition is a Divine gift, and communication with your spirit guides and angels may be enhanced by “fine-tuning” your psychic intuition. It can serve as a guiding force in your daily life. [Learn more]
Angel Meditation: Meet Your Angel or Spirit Guide Today
By Linda Pendleton
Begin this angel meditation with an open heart to receive the messages of love awaiting your recognition and acceptance.
Ask God/Spirit/the Divine…
Surround me in white light and for messages of love and purity for the highest good and growth.
With pen and paper in hand, close your eyes for a moment and imagine you are sitting on a bench under a shade tree in a beautiful garden, filled with colorful, fragrant flowers, lush deep green grass, and singing birds. As you open your eyes, imagine that a beautiful angel, male or female, walks toward you and joins you on the bench.
Say hello, and ask, “Do you have a message for me?”
Listen for an answer, any answer, and write it down, without judgment, without filtering what you hear, or what you might have previously imagined an angel would say.
Close your eyes, and softly thank the angel.
Then open your eyes and read what you have written. Does it have meaning for you?
If so, then write out what you believe the meaning and/or purpose to be in your journal. You might want to try this once or so a day, to see what messages filter through your mind and onto the paper.
Keep your daily writings and read them over again in a day or two, and see if any new perspective or understanding occurs to you.
Excerpt from the online angel course Healing Whispers: Communication with Your Spirit Guides and AngelsCopyright © by Linda Pendleton. All rights reserved.
Healing with Herbs & Food: Recipes & Ingredients to Keep on Hand during Flu & Cold Season
Creating Your Own Healing Herbal Blends with Confidence Whether you wish to be the Family Doctor for yourself and those closest to you — or — develop and hone your skills towards creating or expanding your own healing practice, this course is intended to help you pave a path so you may step into whatever role you desire with confidence. This herbalism course provides herbal recipes and blends for specific diseases that may be troubling you, principles of growing and using herbs, and suggests paths you could take in the wonderful world of Herbalism. Embrace natural healing herbs today! [Learn More Now]
By June Soyka Cook ©
Cold Flu Concoction with Thyme
Ginger Tea
Miso Soup Recipe (Serves 2)
- Boil the water in a small pot. Add chopped vegetables and mushrooms to boiling water. Lower heat, cover, and simmer until vegetables are tender (about 8 -15 minutes depending on the vegetables used). After vegetables have simmered for about 5 minutes, place a ¼ cup hot vegetable broth from the pot in a separate bowl. Add miso to bowl and mix until miso becomes a wet paste. Add tofu to bowl of miso mixture and set bowl aside until vegetables are tender. Tear seaweed into small pieces and add to the pot.
- When vegetables are tender, add the miso mixture from the bowl to the pot. Let stand for 3 – 4 minutes. Don’t heat miso on high heat, as it will kill the living microorganisms that aid in digestion and healing.
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Miso soup is great to help you maintain good health and to recover from ill health. Miso soup has long been known for its healing effects. A smooth and dark puree, miso is made from soybeans and has many health benefits. Miso soup is even thought to deter cancer cells from multiplying. This recipe also includes shitake mushrooms and seaweed, both considered powerful immune system boosters. One teaspoon of seaweed daily is said to boost the immune system. If you’re feeling under the weather, you might want to muster the energy to make this miso soup recipe yourself. Trust your body to guide you to the nutrients it needs for healing and health. Remember making this healing soup is intuitive. You can try more or less miso and different vegetable combinations. Honor your body’s wisdom as you experiment with this miso soup recipe.
We hope you enjoy these healing recipes!
Loving and Caring for Self
By Arna Baatz, Excerpt from her book I am Inspiration: Emotional Intelligence; The Key to Success
The best teachers are people with high self-esteem.
The way you care for yourself as an adult is connected to how you were cared for as a child. Another contributing factor to self-esteem is what we witnessed as a child; how did your parents care for themselves? They looked after you but did they look after themselves?
Children who grow up being cared for by parents who care for themselves, are in an optimal position for a lifetime of great self-esteem.
If you experienced a caring environment, chances are you take care of yourself. If you didn’t, you may neglect some of your needs without even realizing it.
If you have habits of neglect for yourself, no matter how much you love teaching and how hard you try, you may be unintentionally reflecting a lack of self-care behavior.
Here are a couple of simple pointers and techniques to help you discover how much you actually like yourself, how to adjust your perspective and bring to your classroom a stronger foundation of self-esteem:
- On waking in the morning take deep breaths, slowly and softly
- Make an intention, a strong heartfelt statement to yourself, along the lines of “today I will do what I can to truly love myself more.”
- Before you have coffee or tea, slowly sip a glass of fresh water, acknowledging your body’s needs and bringing your awareness to the miracle of your bodily functions.
- Remember to breathe deeply whenever the thought of self-love arises
- Be aware of the thoughts that travel through your mind, don’t try to change them as yet, but do notice them. These are the thoughts that are creating the emotions and the stress levels in your body.
- You may be surprised at how nasty or self-defeating some of these thoughts can be. Once again, it is not the time to change these thoughts but simply to acknowledge and accept.
- Feelings may arise as you discover this “programming” and that’s okay. Simply feel the feelings with the intention to do what you can to start to love yourself more and more every day.
- With strong intentions, gentle acknowledgement and self-acceptance, your self esteem will grow; the natural natural evolution of the human mind is to heal and change.
You may notice as you continue your journey of self-awareness that you will begin to see more synchronicities in your daily life. This is a sign that you are working toward truly loving yourself. Your mind has accepted your intention and is responding by alerting you to healing opportunities in the form of books, things people say, television moments etc.
The decision to grow self-esteem and open your heart to yourself is an exciting and important step to take, not only for the benefits you will see in your own life but for the lives of the little ones you have pledged to nurture.
To look at it simply, there are four major areas of self-care:
- Mental
- Emotional
- Physical and
- Spirtitual Health
They are intertwined and you can start in any area at any time, it is never too late.
Make an intention to do something from each area every day, until you begin to feel your self-esteem and self-care rising. This may take a little while but if you deliberately and consistently change your patterns of thought you will develop more positive neural networks in your brain so don’t give up, you are worth it!
About the Author
Arna Baartz is a writer, educator and award winning Artist with an enduring love of the visual arts as a method of expression, personal growth and communication. She is the author of I am Inspiration: Emotional Intelligence; The Key to Success. Helping educators and parents elevate self esteem in children is the focus of this book. Her book contains a program with effective strategies for helping children to succeed, both personally and academically. Arna lives in the beautiful Northern Rivers of New South Wales, Australia with her loving partner and eight wonderful children.
Feng Shui ~ Front Door Meditation
Feng Shui Soulutions: Your 30 Day Home and Life Makeover Feeling stuck in a rut? Each lesson in this 30 day Feng Shui makeover provides proactive steps you may take to balance, open, release, or shift energy in your home. Once energy is shifted and vibrational levels lifted on the home front, you could well notice a series of positive, unexpected and almost magical events occurring in your life! This could include attracting new opportunities, improved relationships, better health, increased abundance and greater success.Learn more now!Feng Shui ~ Front Door Meditation
By Deborah Redfern
A door is a metaphor for transitions. The front door marks the transition between the outer public world and your inner private world. Your front door is the threshold between these two worlds. Consider that…
- All the energy of your home enters through the front door; it is the mouth of Chi.
- It is the first thing you, and everyone who comes to your home notices.
- It makes lasting impressions about who you are.
Health and Mobility: Fit for Life with Nia
By Deborah Redfern, Nia instructor and Feng Shui Practitioner
Nia teacher Deborah Redfern
Photo by: Rachelle Polsom
A year ago last spring, I found out I was a diabetic. It was discovered during a routine checkup, but I wasn’t entirely surprised because my weight had been climbing steadily for a few years, even though I thought my eating habits were good. Since I wanted to avoid taking medication for diabetes (or anything else) I knew I needed to make a dramatic lifestyle change. I made two. No surprise, diet and exercise greatly help control diabetes (and a lot of other ailments too).
My first step was to become a vegetarian. I already cooked healthy meals, rarely ate fried foods or desserts, and didn’t drink alcohol or soda. Since I seldom ate meat, I wasn’t that far from being an ovo-lacto vegetarian, but dropping the dairy made a huge difference.
My body weight dropped steadily by a pound or two a week. Mind you, I was not “dieting.” As my weight dropped, I noticed my energy levels went up and the mid-afternoon drowsy slumps disappeared.
The second big life change I made was to fully commit myself to movement. I was active in my twenties and thirties in dance and yoga, but in my forties things fell apart. I moved to Victoria when I was 45 and it took a long time to find my bearings. Eventually, I found Nia and attended a weekly class for about six months before the diabetes diagnosis.
Nia is a no/low impact fitness technique that combines dance, martial arts and yoga postures. Uplifting music accompanies each class and the moves are adapted for people of different fitness capabilities. Debbie and Carlos Rosas developed Nia in the United States about 27 years ago, and classes are currently offered in about 35 countries.
Through Nia, I met a teacher who in her early seventies clearly had a younger “body age” than me (I’m in my early fifties). Her agility and grace was beautiful and inspiring, and I decided that would be me - starting now.
Modern science allows us to disguise much of the outer signs of aging, but a body conditioned by conscious movement, one that is strong, agile and flexible can defy age more than any cosmetic, dye or procedure on the market. So, I committed myself to Nia and signed up for the next training course held in Victoria. My goal: to teach.
When I went back for my next checkup, my blood sugars were normal. My doctor didn’t use the words “reversed diabetes,” but she said I was managing the condition through my lifestyle.
Now, I am a certified and licensed Nia Technique Instructor. I teach a 50+ class at the Monterey Recreation Centre in Oak Bay, as well as classes at the Burnside Gorge Recreation Centre and the Fairfield Gonzales Community Recreation Centre.
At times, it is difficult for me to grasp that leading Nia classes is really my job because it is so much fun. On a philosophical level, I am motivated by my belief that moving, whether through Nia, yoga, or something else, is (unless our work is physical labour) our real “job.”
Our bodies were designed to move. I advocate a new vision where play comes first. Like having your dessert before your main course; like saving money by paying yourself first, we become fit for life by putting fitness first. If each of us did this, we could enjoy the world and improve the world at the same time, since there would be less disease and disability, and more productivity. We could turn our attention from the business of disease care to global health care.
Tips for staying fit:
- It doesn’t matter what you do as long as you get moving. Walk, swim, bike, hike, golf or dance: it’s all good.
- Choose something you enjoy. If you aren’t having a good time, you’ll fall off the wagon. It has happened to me many times, all my good intentions swept aside.
- Moving has to be thought of as a priority, not something you do when you can fit it in. Commit to it.
- One way to commit is to make it your own. If you only walk when you have someone to walk with, or you play a partner sport, you’re giving your power to someone else. Make your primary way to keep fit something just for you. You will then have more energy for partner activities.
Health and Mobility
A study conducted on what made people happy as they get older revealed that money or lifestyle wasn’t the most important - it was health and mobility. It is possible the two are related - that those who have a certain level of wealth and a certain lifestyle have more time to spend on keeping fit. But it needn’t follow. It is more about an attitude.
I want to stay healthy for rest of my life. Doesn’t everyone? Through conscious eating and conscious moving, it is a goal within reach.
To learn more about Nia, visit www.nianow.com
Saying Goodbye to Beringer
A Different Grief: Coping with Pet Loss
Are you anticipating or mourning the loss of your pet, and surprised and even overwhelmed at the depth of your grief? The lessons in this course are designed both to help you understand and cope with the grief of losing your pet, and to guide you towards meaningful growth, healing and inspiration. Come to a better understanding of the emotional upheaval caused by the shock, disbelief, anger, guilt and sorrow that are commonly experienced when a beloved pet is lost. Learn meaningful ways to memorialize your faithful friend. You deserve to feel comforted, understood and acknowledged as a person in grief, and reassurance that you are normal and healthy in loving your faithful animal friend so deeply. [Learn more now]
Sadly, the below message was posted on Marty Tousley’s grief blog this August. Our hearts go out to Marty and her husband as they grieve the passing of their beloved dog, Beringer. Marty has helped so many of us walk the difficult path of grief over the years and she continues to do so in her eCourses, eBooks and discussion forum. Our heartfelt condolences to you, dear Marty, as you yourself walk this difficult path once more.
Saying Goodbye to Beringer
By Marty Tousley, Bereavement Counselor
Dear Ones,
I’d like you all to know that this morning, August 22, 2011 we said our final farewell to our beloved Tibetan terrier, Beringer. He was born August 15, 1996, and came to us eight weeks later as the most precious and adorable puppy we’d ever seen. Over the years he wrapped his furry self around every aspect of our daily lives, and has been for both of us the source of the most exquisite form of love: complete, pure and unconditional. He has always been everything a dog should be: our most loyal and constant companion. He will be sorely missed.
My heart is too broken to say any more at the moment, so this will have to do:
