Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
There is so much for us to learn in this life experienceůand the idea of how best to take
care of our body is somehow not high on the list, at least not in most cultures, and certainly
not in America. We eat to make our mouth happy and to fill our belly. Few people know their
anatomy and fewer understand their own physiology. In America, we run to a physician to answer
our curious questions about what it is that is taking place within our body and we are
often frustrated because doctors donĺt seem to have all of the answersů.. Unfortunately,
many times, they cannot provide right answers because we donĺt even know how to accurately
and reliably report the questionsů.but most people donĺt factor that reality into the
equation.
There is a simple solutionůand the beauty is that it is never too late for us to study
our body and learn the important ways in which our mind and body are so very interconnectedůůthey
influence one another with every breath, every thought, and every emotion. Itĺs fascinating.
I think it is kind of funny, although not laughable, that we donĺt know our body. Why
is that?
When we are infants, we are very busy placing our hand into our mouth and even a foot! But
as time goes on, we divorce our self from knowing who we are. Some of this is because
weĺre told not to play with our self in toddlerhood when we start exploring our genitals and parents
donĺt want us to get obsessed or embarrass them in publiců.but that is only a small
aspect of the challenges we face. We just donĺt know our bodies.
Do you know where your gallbladder is? And which connects to your stomach ľ the small
or the large intestine? Do your tonsils serve any purpose? What does it mean if you have
high blood pressureůů.or high cholesterol? And why should you careů.?
If you are thinking that this is silly because you have a doctor who tends to all of that
for you and you have drugsůmedicineů.to help you, I invite you to consider rethinking
your outlooků.and here is why. Medicine does not guarantee that you wonĺt suffer from
the consequences of the thing you are taking the medicine forů.or that you wonĺt have
additional problems because of the medicineůů.we all know about side effects. Additionally,
physicians need for us to let them know us when we feel well in addition to when weĺre
under the weather or injured. They need to know our emotional state, our belief system,
who we are and what our life expectations areůůand if you think I am kidding, test
it out.
Physicians went into their careers with a list of needs and one was to help peopleů..there
is no way to be of real help if you donĺt know who the people are. Simple truth. I cannot
possibly make decisions for you in good conscience and aligned with your lifestyle if I donĺt
understand who you are. What happens when patients and physicians donĺt know one another
is called compliance issues ľ there is a breakdown in what the doctor tells you to
do and what you actually do. In my experience, that happens because the two parties donĺt
really know one another and the patient does not fully understand their own body enough
to appreciate the implications of the request/recommendation/prescriptionůůůů.
I recently met a young woman who had lived with stomach ulcers ľ bleeding ulcersůůthey
were a problem. Her doctor prescribed various medicationsů.and finally surgeryůů.a surgery
which ended up in the removal of her stomachůůůI was horrified. These doctors were looking
to find relief for her but they didnĺt know her, didnĺt know her lifestyle and her desires
for a full and rich existence beyond that surgeryů.and she, did not understand the
implications of having such a dramatic procedure done ľ she was unaware of the role of the
stomach in the body overall, let alone the role it plays in the digestive systemůůnot
that she is experiencing kidney failure, I am eagerly in search of ways to educate her
and get her familiar enough with her body so she can contribute in meaningful ways to
help a professional team understand more productively what she is experiencing so that treatments
are not created form a text book that donĺt take her uniqueness into account.
Had this young gal understood the mind body connection and the genuine influence that
our thoughts and emotions have over our physiology in addition to what foods could be very healing
and healthy for an ulcerative condition, she might have been spared her current situation.
What do I mean by thatů.?........! For every thought we have, there is an emotion associatedůand
vice versa. These pairings release neurotransmitters into our blood stream and cause our body to
do thingsů..what sorts of thingsů? There are many examples but letĺs continue with
the stomach example -- when your stomach churns and burns, it isn't necessarily due to something
you ateů..the stomach is a typical place for stress to manifest itselfůů.discomfort
in the stomach more likely stems from some aggravation, some stress youĺve been experiencingů..and
this happens because as you stress out, you are swallowing air and also producing digestive
juices as you salivate which trigger digestive juices to be released into your digestive
system ľ when there is no food or insufficient food to absorb those secretions, your gut
literally gets attacked. The feeling of being queasy, having the feeling of fullness even
if youĺve not eaten, bloating, abdominal gas, and stomach upsets are some of the first
symptoms of stress. ůůůand in addition to the stomachĺs involvement, the large intestine
is where most of the action takes place. Food stays in your stomach for just 30 minutes,
but it can take 48 to 72 hours for partially digested particles to work through the entire
length of the large intestine. The presence of stress hormones slows digestion further,
so when you're under pressure, food can ferment and stagnate, leading to diarrhea and constipation.
These activities combined shifts the live flora in the digestive tract which is what
keep it healthy and also help break down foodůůů.if you donĺt tend to the stress and these physical
reactions through specific dietary aids like aloe juice or live yogurt which replenish
and minimize the reactions, you run the risk of creating a breakdown in the lining of your
gut and end up producing sores which are ulcerative. If this sounds complex to you, please believe
me that it is only because of the initial exposure youĺre having to these concepts
hereů..it is actually very simple.
Here is the simplicity ľ our mind and body and very tied togetherů.and by more than
just the neckůů.our heart and our brain travel everywhere with us and they follow
one another. When we have thoughts and feelings, we need to embrace them and own them and deal
with the consequences, not try to escape themůnot any portion of them. Iĺm not being frivolous
when I state overtly that we each need to take much more gentle and loving care of our
mind and our bodyů.and work to understand both.
Authors like the popular Dr Oz have written books entitled The Ownerĺs Manualůthere
are vast resources available to us all onlineů.libraries are filled with resources. Study you ľ find
out what your body is doingůů.the rewards are highů.and when you understand your body,
you become less afraid of your symptoms because you understand them. Once you understand them,
you know how to either treat them yourself or explain in a helpful manner to a professional
whatĺs happening so they can assist you more effectively.
I know for example, that if I am craving coffee in the morning, I need to eat yogurt first
otherwise I have two reactions to coffee on an empty gut ľ a stomach ache because the
acid is burning my raw gut lining and anxiety because I am absorbing caffeine at too rapid
a rate without food to digest and absorb some of it. Coffee for me without this knowledge
makes me feel like I am going insane and dying simultaneously.
The other part of the understanding our body mind connection is to acknowledge that we
each know full well why our body looks the way it does. Ok, this is bigůůůbecause
this is my personal storyůbut here goesůůI am willing to share it here because it seems
to ring true when I share it live.
I grew up athletic and slenderůů.alwaysůůůnowů.it is a different story and it is a different
body. I could tell myself stories about how it is because I am older and I have slowed
my paceůů.or my metabolism is slowerů.or some other plausible such nonsenseůbut I
know the real deal, the real perspectiveůůand here it is. I am pretty chunkyůů.there is
nothing I can do on the camera here to hide that fact ľ this is me. Many days I just
say ľ yikes.
A decade ago I pretty good lookingůů..but when I lost my husband, it really broke my
heartů.I mean to the coreůů.it was a loss, a major hit to my soulů..the very core of
me. I was initially so grief stricken that I did not self nourishů.and I lost quite
a bit of weight from being a normal weight personůůpeople thought I looked great. Really?
I thought they were nuts because I felt awfulů.but in our culture, thin is inůit is gorgeous
even if you are depressed. Suddenly, I found myself attracting menůůand I was in no way
ready for thatůůnot at allůů.so I recoiled and isolated myselfů.stayed at homeůůand
ate whatever I wantedů.it is a very easy formula. Trust me, if you donĺt know this
routine, chances are you will some day or you will certainly know someone who does this
or has done this. I gained maybe 30 or 40 pounds and didnĺt have to worry about handsome
men desiring my intimate companionshipůů..I was relievedůů.
I went from that into my workůůand that was even easier because there was none of
that *** tension with anyone in my career world ľ I was free. My work thrivedů.I was
increasingly more effective. Interesting. It felt to me like everyone was more relaxed
around meůů.
Problemů..I kept eating whatever I wanted and not worrying about weight or exercise.
Iĺd been pretty healthy.
Thenů.well, in the last episode you heard my story about my momůůůall very true.
I turned off my business and redirected my lifeůůI wanted to do nothing other than
sit next to my mom and tend to her and enjoy whatever time we had togetherůů.savor itůů.and
sheĺd either get well and weĺd get healthy together or something else would occur.
The something else occurred. She passed awayů..I got really sad all over againůů.and her
message to me for months before she had died was ľ Deb, please be happy againůů.I want
you to have a full life when I am goneůů.what is happening here is no way to liveůůů.get
healthy, fall in love againůůů.I would look at her and remind her we were on this
path together and all things would come to pass as was our fatesůůů
When my mom died, I was pretty chunked outůů..in another state of grief, I sure didnĺt feel
like eatingů..so weight dropped off a bitůů.and then I had to replay in my mind my momĺs
requests of meůů.to be healthy, to be happyůůůthose thoughts gave me a very physical responseůů.and
began to generate inside of me a desire to crave lifeůůůI am giving you the short
version here but it was very difficultů.hard to come to terms with ľ the idea of going
on with my lifeůů..I found myself wondering what my purpose was, what my intent was, what
my gifts and skills wereůůůgrief does that to youůand your body attends to that. I got
into some real trouble as a result of my sadness and despair just like with stress ľ my joints
began to hurt, movement became a challenge, weight sat on my frame, I felt tired all of
the time, I had some enormous dental problemsůů.awful, just awfulůůůů.and it is all inter-relatedůů
Guess what?! It is now 2 years laterůů.Iĺve dropped several sizes in my clothing, I swim
nearly every day, I crave healthy foods, I have taken care of my dental health and have
my beautiful mouth again, I can move more freely and without pain or agony most of the
time (still working on this) and my energy is resumingůů..Iĺve changed my state physiologically
and it has altered my story psychologicallyůů.or vice versaůthey work together. The point
is ľ when I decided to take my next breath, to rejoin the living, to pursue a really great
life once again, my mind and my body began to work together in a new direction, once
againůůthey shift gears easily!
Now, as I envision myself alive and vibrant, I also envision spectacular men to date and
simply play withůand maybe even fall in love withůůůand as a result of that freeing,
I drop excess weightů.and I also swim and eat healthyů.I am not on a rigid diet of
some artificial routine, I am on a steady diet of I love life!
I being each morning as I invite you to do hereůůůůclose your eyes or look up at
the sky or out the windowůů.search to see something beautiful in natureůů..give thanksůtrulyů..for
your ability to seeůůand also to hear the russling of leaves, the break of the waters,
the songs of the birds, the wind moving the leaves on the treesůůůů.whatever source
you believe in, gives thanksů..nowůůů..I doů.and I also say -- I am thankful for the
ability to breath each dayůůI do not live on a ventilator as I have seen too many doůůI
can move, I am not restrained in any wayůůůI am so thank filledůůůůand I can think
clearlyů.my mind works reliably for meůůů..and my heart is openůopen to love and open to
possibilitiesůůůůůůit is a new day, it is a fresh breathůůit is lifeů.this
is lifeů..I want to have passion and feel it and embrace it, every bit of itůůand
be thankful for every aspect of it because it causes me to be inspired and motivatedůů..and
do good works for the people around me and for the people of the planetůůů.
I am blessed and happy and at peaceů..my body is what is me and I love meůůand because
of my mind and my thoughts I am ready to love my body completely and to enjoy and embrace
my healthůůand to cherish and protect my health with everything I do to and with and
for my bodyůůů.every dayůů
Retain this line of thinking here and when I see you next time, I will share with you
why your mouth is such an interesting place to contemplateůů..see you then