Category Archives: Healing the Mind, Body & Spirit.

Relieve Stress With Yoga

Featured

Posted on by
1
guest post by Marcela De Vivo, Health & Wellness Writer

Image Courtesy of http://www.oldetownshantihome.com/

Stress is a physical and emotional response by your body when it feels something is posing a threat or challenge to your well-being. Stress can wreak havoc on a your nervous system, affecting your thoughts, feelings, demeanor, and body.

When under stress, the nervous system is divided into two different states. There is the biological process of how the internal organs function during stress, and there is the psychological response — the “fight or flight” state during stress.

This makes stress both physically and emotionally draining, and it only gets worse the longer the stress endures. Long-term stress can trigger health problems such as  heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity.

The following symptoms can arise when your body is suffering from stress:

  • Increased in blood pressure

  • Rapid breathing

  • Digestive system slows down

  • Increased heart rate

  • Compromised immune system

  • Tension in the muscles

  • Insomnia

Fortunately, there are many non-prescription techniques to relieve stress. Yoga is an excellent tool to fight the symptoms and effects stress has on the body.

Breathing Exercises

When performing yoga, the use of simple breathing strategies are practiced. The process of controlling the diaphragm during breathing exercises will allow for the body to convert into a “rest and digest” state.

There are also specific poses in yoga that can aid in relieving stress. The poses help the body and mind relax, bringing a sense of calm, and focus back to the bodies center.

Chair Lower Back Stretch

Image Courtesy of strongerfitteryou.com

This pose is simple. Sitting in a chair, open the legs to a little more than your hips’ width apart. Then bend at the waist and place head between legs. Relax entire body in this position. Inhale and lift body back to starting position.

This pose can relax back and neck muscles, and allows for the controlled breathing. This is a simple pose that can be done anywhere, making it an ideal pose.

Knee to Chest

Image Courtesy of www.orthowilmington.com

This pose is another simple pose that can be done by anyone regardless of fitness level. Lying on the back, pull knees up to chest, and hold in position. While in this position, rock back and forth from side to side.

Salutation Seal

Image courtesy of www.yogapaws.com

This is an excellent pose to finish any yoga routine. It allows for relaxation and reflection. Sit comfortably with legs crossed, and bring hands together at the sternum. Bow the head slightly and draw the sternum toward the hands. This is an excellent pose to hold while meditating.

Meditation

Meditation is another technique that is used in conjunction with yoga. Meditation is the concentration of the mind through an internal effort to self regulate internal thoughts. There are several ways mediation takes place. Mediation can help to regulate breathing, and heart rate, while combating stress.

There are many physical and emotional benefits that are provided from using yoga. Yoga is a controlled exercise and allows for a person to regain control of their body through the various positions, and techniques. Yoga works to keep the physiological responses from stress under control.

Yoga is more than just a stress reducer, it can also improve fitness and help to manage chronic illnesses. There are other various positions and techniques in yoga that can be used to relieve the effects of stress. Depending on a person’s fitness level any yoga position can be modified accordingly.

Marcela De Vivo is a freelance writer from Los Angeles. She does yoga every day, for both stress relief and fitness, and would recommend it to everyone who feels under pressure or wants to live a healthier lifestyle. She and her husband own cleanseauthority.com.

You Are Made of Pure Love

Featured

Posted on by
1

by Blair Shackle, Social Media Manager and Web Editor, Restore

What if you decided to give gratitude to every feeling?

When you are sad, you have the warmth of Heaven surrounding you.

When you feel like you’ve made a mistake, you are still on the right path.

When change becomes difficult, a light will be there to guide you.

When cold and snow blankets the world, know that spring will soon return.

When you are stressed, know you are being strengthened.

When your mind won’t stop running, let your heart take over the talking.

When your freedom seems lost, know that it can always be found.

When you accept yourself and give gratitude for every feeling in your soul . . .

You are baptized in pure love.

You are always pure love.

Blair Shackle is the Social Media Manager and Web Editor at Restore. She is also the heart behind her personal website, The Turquoise Heart! A place to free your limitless light + greatness. Catch your dreams. Listen to your inner guidance. Be brave. Encourage balance. Reconnect to the voice of your heart. You can also connect with Blair and The Turquoise Heart through Facebook and Twitter.

The Gift Within Our Symptoms

Featured

Posted on by
Reply

by Keri Mangis, Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner, Yoga Teacher and Owner, Elements Ayurveda

Every one of us has known what it’s like to be sick. To be hurting. To have a “disease”.  Our experiences range from mild to moderate to life threatening. Some are acute while others are chronic. We all know the discomfort, frustration and pain that arises from disease.

Logically, we wish to be free of disease. We want to see and feel relief. We want our lives back! So the question is this:
When symptoms appear, will you seek out a cure, or will you embark on a path to healing?

Curing is a Goal
The idea of “curing” comes from a place of viewing the body as something separate. In this model, the body is simply a means to an end; something to use and control. When it doesn’t comply, we try to force and manipulate it so we can get back to doing what we think we need to be doing.

When seeking a cure, we are generally not interested in examining the choices we’ve made in our life. We do not wish to examine our heart and soul. Rather, we want to be left in peace from our body and move on, doing what we’ve always done (I don’t have time for this headache!). With curing, there is an ideal “end” in sight – a time when we will be “done”. A time when we are “cured”.

We know, however, these “cures” are not exactly what they seem. While they may shut down messages to the brain, the symptoms are not truly gone, just hidden away temporarily. They often return at a later date, and often with greater intensity.

Healing is a Process
The idea of “healing” lies at the crux of all ancient healing traditions including Ayurveda, Chinese Medicine, Shamanism, etc. With healing, we are not seeking the “quick-fix” or remedy.  We are not interested in simply subduing the symptoms. We are interested in removing the root cause of the symptoms.

Translating the Symptoms
Healing comes from a deep place of recognizing the body as a sacred messenger. The body is the translator for the heart and soul. And the body never lies.

Symptoms ask us to look deeper at the choices we are making (or not making) in our lives. We ask: What is the soul trying to communicate to us? Are we ready to listen? 

The Gift Within Our Symptoms
From this standpoint, the body, and the symptoms, are gifts. They are markers – guiding us further along our spiritual path. They awaken us to the moment! Because of these symptoms, we have the opportunity to examine our lives, our choices, our lessons, dreams and desires. Not with judgment, hostility, regret and blame, but with acceptance, honor, gentleness and grace.

Symptoms are the soul’s way of knocking on our door reminding us of who we are. This helps us reclaim our power and realign with our True Purpose – what a gift!

Healing is a journey of the soul  - not a goal to be achieved. But as we heal, the symptoms naturally, gently release. The messages become more subtle, less intense. And we regain our internal compass to navigate the days of our lives.

The Prince, the Dove and the Letter
Once upon a time lived a prince who traveled thousands of miles on a quest to find his True Self, his True Purpose. One day he was sitting at the window thinking of all his travels, his fears, his woes. A dove flew by outside his window, flapping its wings wildly. The prince was annoyed by the bird and shooed it away carelessly. He did not see the letter held in the dove’s beak. This letter was from his True Self, reminding him of exactly what he wished to know.

Our symptoms are like that bird. Will you be awake, willing and patient enough to receive the messages and embark on your healing journey?

As both a Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner and Yoga Teacher, Keri Mangis weaves together both sides of the healing traditions founded in India thousands of years ago. In her work, she assists her clients in uncovering their true constitution, desires, potential, and challenges. Keri’s style is caring, compassionate, gentle and effective.

Keri received her initial yoga certification in 2003 and has taught yoga, meditation and pranayama for over 10 years. She received her CAP certification (Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner) from KanyaKumari Yoga and Ayurveda Center in Milwaukee, WI in 2012. Prior to completing that certification, she received over 600 hours of ayurveda and advanced yoga coursework with the American Institute of Vedic Studies. She has received numerous additional certifications and training including Yin Yoga, Healing Touch, chakras, yoga nidra and more. Keri is recognized through NAMA (National Ayurvedic Medical Association) and the Yoga Alliance. Learn more about Kerri at www.elementsayurveda.com and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.

Make sure to attend the upcoming HAMMS: Help a Minnesota Maker Succeed event taking place on Saturday, April 20 in St. Paul. Come and meet Keri at the Restore booth where she will be offering brief Marma facials from 2:30pm – 4:30pm to help you relax and rejuvenate!

Be Happy. Be Here.

Featured

Posted on by
Reply

by Kate Sciandra, Founder & Owner, The Healing Presence

Someone asked me once what I really want from of my work. It was immediately clear that what I love, REALLY love, is showing people how to be happier. My definition of what happiness is has changed over the years, but I think that if you look at its very core, it really has remained the same. It is simply living with joy and peace.

I found much of my younger years (from childhood well into my 20s) to be a struggle. I know that I am not alone in this. In fact, I’m dead certain that I was in the majority, but I only know for sure what I was thinking and feeling and experiencing. I was subject to extreme feelings, and my way of responding to those feelings could be equally dramatic. I was easily thrown way off course by mistakes in judgment or execution. I would sometimes have the attention span of a gnat. I was able to get sucked in by drama with the best of them, and my responses to circumstances could be wildly out of proportion.

Superficially, it seemed like I was living life large. I played hard, people liked me, I got good grades, my interest in outside activities was off the chart, I was healthy and active and had lots of friends. And I was pretty miserable. Why? Because I was not living with joy and peace.

I lived with Fun, but fun is not the same as Joy. Fun was often a mad dash to find joy, but rarely was it joy itself, and it certainly was not living with peace. In fact, the times that were filled with joy left a strong enough impression on me that many of them I remember decades later. They were not generally days that revolved around great events, they were just days where I experienced true joy and peace. They were the days that I was happy.

So what made those days special? In retrospect, knowing what I now know, I would say that I was able to live fully in those moments. I was not worried about how I was being seen or judged by others, or whether what I was doing I was doing correctly or incorrectly. I was living fully and living in the moment, with peace, joy, and equanimity.

At the time, I think I wished I could capture that feeling in a bottle. I didn’t realize then what I know now: that you can live with that feeling as often as you want to, and that it really is a choice to be happy, and that it only takes some gentle redirecting of your thinking and behavior. The simplest shift in your attention and perception can bring about profound changes.

So, what is joy? Joy is often assumed to be an ecstatic state of being, but it’s a lighter, more spacious feeling. It’s much closer to feeling peaceful or contented, and that contentment comes from the beauty of being fully committed to being completely present. This is one of those deceptively simple ideas. Like all good ideas of great simplicity, it rides on an undercurrent of rich complexity.

This is why, even though I teach people how to live more mindfully, function more effectively, and engage more peacefully, I have a teacher. I have someone who acts as a guide, a sounding board, and a mirror, so that when I’m wading through the waters of mindfulness and meditation and I find myself stepping into an unexpected deep spot, a place where I wonder if I’m in over my head, I have support to help me step back out.

It’s good to have support as you learn to live more in the present, but don’t wait until you find it to get started. Feel your feet on the ground, smell the wind, listen to your breath, and taste your food. Take a moment to bring your attention to the here and now, quiet your mind, and open the path to joy.

Want to experience less stress? Like less “drama” and worry? Do you desire to be more focused and stay on task? For a limited time, take advantage of 50% off Kate Sciandra’s Everyday Mindfulness Program. Choose from an Individualized Coaching Program or Online Self Study Program. Click here to learn more.

Kate Sciandra of The Healing Presence boasts a long, diverse history in the healing arts. Through studying herbs and flower essences at the Australasian College of Herbal Studies, she realized her deep desire to help individuals heal inside and out, leading her to search for additional methods of addressing the body and mind.

In 1992, Kate began studying Ortho-Bionomy®, and was so drawn to it that she became a Registered Instructor and Advanced Practitioner. Years later, she began teaching meditation and mindfulness classes to individuals and groups in the Twin Cities area. Kate has been fulfilling her passion for making the world a better place one person at a time by passing on the skills of being a compassionate presence. She now shares her passion and information with organizations and individuals through varied courses in Ortho-Bionomy®, The Mindfulness Habit, Cultivating the Healing Presence, and Becoming a Peaceful Presence. Connect with Kate at The Healing Presence and on Facebook.

Spring Cleaning For Your Mind, Body and Soul

Featured

Posted on by
Reply

by Kari Erdman, Holistic Health Coach and Founder of Transforming You

It’s hard to believe that it is officially spring here in the Midwest with the blanket of snow and the frigid temperatures encouraging us to continue hibernating. It leaves us wondering, did Mother Nature not get the memo?!

Even though the weather conditions may not reveal the shift in seasons, underneath the frozen ground, there are budding seeds. It’s the time of year for those of us who have a green thumb to be germinating seeds indoors for the coming planting season.The same budding and sprouting is going on inside our mind, body and soul this time of year, as well. Our bodies truly are created to be in sync with the cycles of nature. My body is yearning for fresh greens, movement outdoors and soaking in the sun. I have been counting down the days where I can actually go out on a run with no concern of ice beneath my feet. My mind is ripe with new ideas or ideas that have been germinating for a while, ready to spring forth. Deep in my soul, there is a peeking out from the hibernation and rest from the winter and a cleansing and healing of emotions and a re-awakening of desires and passions.

We may even be feeling sluggish, bloated, and fatigued, which can be symptoms of foods in our diet that may be causing harm to our digestive system, which is the home of our immune system. Food sensitivities and excess toxins stored in our liver can cause a variety of health issues, such as leaky gut, irritable bowel syndrome, depression, anxiety, fatigue, allergies, joint pain, etc. By removing common food sensitivities, such as gluten, dairy, and refined sugar from our diets, we allow healing to occur in our digestive tract.

This is why spring is the perfect time to support the cleansing and sprouting that is occurring inside our mind, body and soul with a period of focused cleansing. To support this process, I am leading a 14-Day Mind-Body-Soul Cleanse journey April 1-April 21, 2013. Register by midnight CST March 26th and receive $25 off! This cleanse is like no other out there because it supports our WHOLE self. It is about body and soul nourishment and having the tools beyond the 14-days to create long-term transformation in our lives.

We will be incorporating cleansing and healing — raw and cooked foods—and ­giving our mind, body and soul a break from gluten, dairy, refined-sugar, caffeine, and alcohol. Alongside that, we will be enjoying daily movement, relaxation, and self-reflection exercises with tips on integrating these into our life commitments. You will receive my support every step of the way. You will receive a guide to prepare for the cleanse with a menu, shopping list and recipes, a self-reflection journal, access to a private Facebook cleanse group, daily email support and a coaching call with me. Think of this as a spring retreat without the cost and time of planning a trip—to be enjoyed from your own home.

The saying “April showers brings May flowers” speaks to the cleansing and sprouting that occurs in April to bring new growth in bloom for May. I look forward to supporting each of you on your cleansing and sprouting journey as you step more fully into your purpose, passion, and joys with a healthy mind, body and soul.

To cleansing and sprouting,

Kari Erdman, M.S., CHHC, is a holistic health coach and founder of Transforming You. She teaches body and soul nourishment tools to men and women to support their journey of self-care and living an abundant life through retreats, speaking, writing, coaching and natural products. She promotes body and soul nourishment through a whole foods diet free of gluten, dairy and refined sugar; Yoga and movement; self-awareness and self-healing techniques; and connecting clients with their purpose and joy through the 14-Day Mind-Body-Soul Cleanse & Transforming You Program. Learn more at www.karierdman.com. Connect with Kari on Facebook.

Are your doshas in balance?

Featured

Posted on by
Reply

by Tricia Sletten, Ayurvedic Practitioner, Educator and Yoga Instructor

If you’ve picked up a Yoga Journal, or other holistic health magazine recently, you’ve most likely seen an article or reference to Ayurveda. Commonly referred to as a sister science to Yoga, Ayurveda has been gaining a broader audience in recent years. Yet in spite of its increasing popularity, there are many who still don’t understand what it is, let alone know how to say the word.

Ayurveda (phonetically: ah-yoor-vay-da) is a Sanskrit word that means “science of life”, or as I prefer to translate it, “wisdom of nature”, and is the oldest continuously practiced health care system in the world. Originating in India more than 5,000 years ago, it is a system of healing that can be practiced by anyone, anywhere, regardless of religion, birthplace or belief system.

The basic premise of Ayurveda is founded upon the understanding that humans, as natural beings, are governed by the same rules and laws that govern Nature. If you decide to ignore these laws of Nature, imbalances will manifest. These imbalances are the precursor to disharmony and may develop into a syndrome or disease in the mind and/or body.

Ayurveda, as a complete system of care for your mind, body and spirit, is considered a guide to living a long and productive life. With a focus on prevention, Ayurveda encourages you to understand your own unique constitution and how the outer world and environment affect your daily life. In fact, the very first chapter in the classic ayurvedic text, the Charaka Samhita, is called “Quest for Longevity.” This is Ayurveda’s gift to us: practical instructions for living a long life in service of our dharma (duty), to acquire artha (wealth), fulfill kaama (desires) and realize moksha (freedom).

The building blocks of Ayurveda are the five great elements: space, air, fire, water and earth. Each of the elements possesses certain qualities. For example, space and earth are static in nature while air, fire, and water are dynamic and changeable. These inherent qualities govern their functions.

Just as you can see examples of different combinations of these elements and their energies in nature, you yourself have slightly different proportions of these individual elements within you. Ayurveda recognizes your unique constitutional makeup and suggests diet, lifestyle, activities, and remedies based on your ayurvedic constitution.

Your constitution is also known as your dosha. A dosha is the combination of two elements. Space and air combine to form vata, fire and water create pitta, and earth and water result in kapha. If you consider the qualities of each element that makes up a dosha, you have a clear indication of the predominant quality of each dosha.

Vata is light, clear, and mobile; its nature is primarily “airy”.
Pitta is sharp, hot, and subtle; its nature is primarily “fiery”.
Kapha is heavy, wet, and cool; its nature is primarily “watery” or “earthy”.

Although you might have a predominance of one or two doshas in your constitution, it is important to understand that everyone has all three doshas in their makeup, as they are the organizing principles that govern your psychophysiology.

Vata is responsible for movement, circulation, and creating space in your body and mind. Pitta is the transformative energy in the body that rules digestion and assimilation of food, thoughts, and emotions. Kapha is lubrication and protection, as well as the structure of the body that holds everything together. Although each dosha has a specific action, they are functionally integrated and present in every cell, tissue and bodily system.

As stated above, Ayurveda recognizes poor health and lack of well being to be the result of an imbalance in one’s constitution. Just as your constitution is unique to you, so are your imbalances.

To learn more about your constitution and most common doshic imbalances, take this constitutional quiz.

As Dr. Vasant Lad, a world-renown ayurvedic physician, states:

Following appropriate lifestyle recommendations will not only balance the doshas, but will bring harmony between the body, mind and consciousness – that’s why the proper food and lifestyle are the best medicine. In the near future, doctors will not merely prescribe a drug, but will also set a proper diet and lifestyle for their patients in order to heal the person and prevent oncoming diseases. This may be a new concept in the western world, but it is ancient wisdom from Ayurveda.

To learn more about Ayurveda and its relevance in your life, contact Tricia at tricia@purelandayurveda.com for an ayurvedic consultation. Tricia is also offering a gentle, week long Ayurvedic Seasonal Cleanse beginning on May 11 at Spirit of the Lake Yoga & Fitness Center. Learn more and register here. The Restore community receives an additional $20 off with promo code: Restore20

Tricia Sletten is an Ayurvedic Practitioner, Educator and Certified Yoga Instructor (E-RYT) with 12 years of teaching experience and more than 17 years of Yoga practice and study. Tricia’s philosophy as an Ayurvedic Practitioner is predicated on the belief that healing is a creative process involving the whole person: body, mind and spirit. A graduate of the Kripalu School of Ayurveda in Stockbridge, MA, she works with clients in Minneapolis and Excelsior through her consulting practice, Pure Land Ayurveda. Learn more about Tricia on Restore and on Facebook.

Stepping Up to the Plate

Featured

Posted on by
Reply

by Annmarie Tenhoff, founder, Well Inspired LLC

Even the most savvy label reader is challenged with really knowing what is in their food. My years of research on this topic cause me to be cautious and concerned.

Chronic illnesses/conditions have risen dramatically since GMOs were silently introduced into our food supply in 1996. Soil nutrients have been depleted or compromised, and GMO plants have a reduced capacity for uptake of any remaining nutrients from the soil. Sugar beets (95%), Canola (93%), Soy (91%) and corn (87%) are mostly genetically modified. Unless you buy only “100% Certified Organic”, you are most likely consuming GMOs.

If the terms GE (Genetically Engineered) or GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) are not familiar to you, here is the short definition:

A gene or genes from a non-related life-form (a separate species or chemical) which is transferred into the genetic structure of a life-form (using bacteria or virus as the vehicle) to alter the DNA of the plant/seed. In short, the common practice is to insert glyphosate (commonly known as Roundup) into the genetic structure of seeds which then become our food.

Most developed nations do not consider GMOs to be safe. In nearly 50 countries around the world, (including Australia, Japan, and all of the countries in the European Union) there are significant restrictions or outright bans on the production and sale of GMOs. In the U.S., the government has approved GMOs based on studies conducted by the same corporations that created them. (Source: nongmoproject.org)

No matter your opinion on the safety of genetically modified foods, we do have the right to be informed of all ingredients in our food supply. Full disclosure labeling allows the consumer to decide if they want to consume GMOs, rather than corporations deciding for us. And for those of us who do not want to consume GMOs, it takes hours of research to figure out what is safe to eat…  I urge you to read the article below, and contact your state legislators and senators. Tell your friends. We can be the ‘tipping point’.

Do you know how much glyphosate you consumed this week?

Peace, love, and blessings,
Annmarie

Annmarie has a Master’s in Holistic Health Studies from St. Catherine University, is certified in Healing Touch and Reiki, as well as in Life Coaching.  Her mission is to work in collaboration with her clients (and their healthcare providers when applicable) in a partnership that provides an integrated and comprehensive approach to health and wellness. Annmarie’s philosophy is that optimal well-being is achieved when traditional medical care is integrated with complementary therapies in a holistic approach that incorporates healing in all aspects – body, mind and spirit. She honors and acknowledges everyone’s unique healing abilities and serves as a guide on their individual path to healing.Connect with Annmarie at info@wellinspiredllc.com

Tai Chi for Every BODY!

Featured

Posted on by
Reply

guest post by Colin Snow, founder of Natural Step Tai Chi for Health & Conscious Living

Tai Chi has evolved as a holistic exercise and meditation system over hundreds of years.
Literally practiced by many generations around the world its benefits for both mind and body are now firmly established facts.

Research undertaken at major universities and clinical centers, including the Mayo Clinic is conclusive. The regular practice of Tai Chi decreases the effects of aging, improves the bodies resistance to disease, increases flexibility, decreases negative effects of stress, accelerates rehabilitation, calms the mind and re-vitalizes the function of all the major organs including the heart and brain.

Tai Chi is an uncomplicated method of empowering individuals, regardless of age, ability or current level of health to become more active in sustaining excellent health, while living more authentically through life. When we are healthy we are happier, and happiness in return, creates better health.

Yes, but really, why bother?

Your body is exquisite. It is the most extraordinary and beautiful creation that you will encounter in your lifetime. It has an inherent wisdom beyond anything our minds can conceptualize.

Everyone on this magical planet is incredibly fortunate to have one. Yet for so much of our lives we take our physical body completely for granted. Your body knows how to re-generate every one of its 10,000 trillion (that’s 10,000,000,000,000,000) cells, it knows how to breath, how to keep the heart beating, how to digest food, how to extract the essential minerals and vitamins, the list of what the body does for us is endless and beyond comprehension. Did you know that not one of the molecules in your body today was there nine years ago, and the number of molecules in your body far exceeds the number of cells?

This intelligence didn’t just show up when you arrived, it evolved over millions of years. And it is this universal intelligence, inherent in all of us, into which we re-connect and nourish through the meditative practice that is Tai Chi.

Tai Chi is so effective because it simply supports and cultivates what already exists in YOU.

Colin Snow, founder of Natural Step Tai Chi in Minneapolis, is a qualified teacher from the United Kingdom. He has studied Tai Chi for 30 years and taught for over 20. Colin invites you to talk with him about Tai Chi and its many benefits. Connect with him at ColinSnow@NaturalStepTaiChi.com or on Facebook.

Visit www.NaturalStepTaiChi.com for a schedule of upcoming classes. You’re also invited to Soul Moves, a weekend retreat taking place April 19-21, 2013 at Open Book in downtown Minneapolis. Soul Moves is hosted by Colin Snow with guest Master Richard Farmer of the UK. Click here to learn more!

How My Miscarriage Changed My Life For The Better

Featured

Posted on by
Reply

post by Blair Shackle, Social Media Manager and Web Editor, Restore

Sometimes I get startled at the incredible layers of life. The shimmering dance of snow, the depth and power of the sea, the vastness of rolling prairie grasses. I no longer just look at these beautiful scenes in nature, I feel their energy in my veins. I am alive. My whole body becomes warm. I can feel the blood flowing. I literally feel my heart swell. It activates a feeling of overwhelm, but in a good way. Breathing becomes excited yet calm at the same time. The moments become longer now as I breathe along with the rest of the Universe. I’ve experienced the magnificence of creation.

Here is where I feel her. Although I never knew if my baby was a “she,” it just feels right. She is here. With a soul as wise as the oldest mountain, she is awakening me. Reminding me I’m alive. Worthy of this moment. Her warmth is overwhelming and pure.

Because of her, I now know my path. I am on it. No more waffling with “what ifs” and “am I sure this is right?” For the first time in my life I know I am on the right path. It has been inside me all along. I just needed some real work to actually happen inside me to know it.

Last week I experienced the milestone of the day that my child was expected to be born. March 1, 2013.

I imagine how my life would be so different now. Having a baby. Experiencing those feelings of being excited and anxious and ready and not ready all at the same time. Kissing her tender cheeks and rosy nose. Cradling her little life, imagining all the joy that she will bring to me and my family. Sharing the flood of wonderment with my husband, who I love so much, that we made such a beautiful gift.

While in reality, I feel like I’m in some sort of fog. Like a magic trick that never really got to that “abracadabra” part.

Yet, I also think about how incredibly grateful I am to have had a miscarriage.

I am saying this because in the last nine months of my life have been the most impactful, powerful and motivating. I do not wish a miscarriage on anyone as a life-awakening experience, but it was such a thing for me. Painful situations and experiences can be turned into powerful ones if we set our hearts on that outcome. That is what I choose.

But it took me a while to get there.

In my experience, I went through a few months where I absolutely tried my best to shut down the deep grief I was going through. I “moved on” with my life. Thought everything was OK. Said I never wanted to have kids. I went through the works of denying my underlying feelings.

Little did I know at the time, those feelings were rising at an incredible force underneath the surface. I didn’t heed the “high tide” warnings. I kept swimming. And I got swept away at sea.

I like to call it an “internal illness” — emotional pain coming out physically — is what brought my feelings of grief to the surface. I explain a lot about it in a prior post called ‘Listen to the workings of your body’. I began experiencing acute and very painful inner ear pain. I believe this was coming from “not wanting to listen/hear about what happened.” I also never grieved past familial losses, so that was a part of it too. For months (yes, months) on end I would have this pain and deep crying jags accompanied with severe dry heaving. I was releasing. I was finally being forced to.

Everything for a few months was so painful. Grieving is hard. One of the hardest things we as humans go through. I desperately wanted it to stop, but it didn’t, and I didn’t quit. I kept releasing, kept peeling back layers and layers of old stuff accompanied with the new miscarriage sadness. As I approached the day of my would-be due date, a sense of understanding and comfort greeted me with a brighter and brighter light as it got closer.

Throughout these nine months or so, I have gained so much soul-level knowledge. Or, really heart speak. I live with my heart so much more now.

Many people believe that children are our greatest teachers. I know this to be true. I may not have a child that walks this Earth, but I have one that you cannot see who is continually teaching me.

These are some of the things I have learned. . .

HAVE PATIENCE
Children are on their own schedule for their needs and wants. I learned this first hand. Lessons, gifts, experiences, people, etc. will come to you when the time is right. We don’t always get to decide that. Live with a trust that things will work out for the best in the perfect time.

TIME IS NOT REAL
Forget the past and future. Live in the now. Like, really be. Appreciate every high and low you experience they are both here to give you what you what you honestly need to be a better person. Let love take the place of time. Stay still. Appreciate the very smallest details of everything you encounter.

BE WILLING TO FORGIVE
Open yourself up to forgive yourself. For whatever that may be. I know I did not cause the miscarriage, but I would be lying if my mind didn’t wander to the possibilities of what I could have done to prevent this. Let that go. Forgive. Forgive. Forgive. Surround yourself with pure love because that is what you are and will always be.

FREE YOUR FEELINGS
Now is not the time to harbor anything inside of us other than love and light. What does this mean? Same as above regarding forgiveness, be willing and open to confront what you are uncomfortable with. Forgive yourself. Forgive others. Forgive God/The Universe/your higher power of choice. Gently cradle your soul with as much love and tenderness you would with a baby. It is never too late to make peace with your feelings. Continually do so.

ALLOW OTHERS TO HELP
I can be very prideful sometimes. Thinking I can fix every problem on my own without the help our guidance of other’s wisdom. That’s not true. Ask for help when you need it. Your soul begs you to. People are placed in our paths not only to be fun and interesting, but to help and serve. Let others love you.

IT’S OK TO FEEL LIKE YOU ARE A MOTHER
I struggle with this one a lot. Some people don’t think you’re a mom if you’ve had a miscarriage. And you can think whatever you want, but I feel like I am a Mom. If you’ve had a miscarriage, and have no other children, consider yourself a mother if you feel it is right.

SEE THE WISDOM OF CHILDREN
Children have so much to offer us. Take note at how they live their lives with such passion and genuine joy. Take the time to understand a child, to hear them, see how they’re feeling. And then thank your inner child and allow it to be a constant presence in your life. We have the ability to add fun into all that we do.

UNDERNEATH THE PAIN SOMETHING MAGNIFICENT TO GAIN
After it all, if I could go back, I know I wouldn’t erase this from my life. I wouldn’t *want* to experience it again, but I think of all the planting and blossoming that came from that big pile of dirt. What are you experiencing in your life that is painful? We all have something. Acknowledge your hurt, but also see the potential for big growth. Amazing, glorious, inspirational change is available at any moment we are feeling uncomfortable. Don’t hide from the pain. Say “thank you” and turn it into a huge gain.

Blair Shackle is the Social Media Manager and Web Editor at Restore. She is also the heart behind her personal website, The Turquoise Heart! This website is a place to free your limitless light + greatness. Catch your dreams. Listen to your inner guidance. Be brave. Encourage balance. Reconnect to the stirrings of your heart. You can also connect with Blair and The Turquoise Heart through Facebook and Twitter.

TSH = Thyroid Stimulating Hooey

Featured

Posted on by
Reply

guest post by Jill Grunewald, Holistic Nutrition Coach, AADP, Healthful Elements

I wish I had a dollar for every time one of my clients said, “My doctor tested my TSH and he/she said that my thyroid is fine, but after reading your symptoms list, I’m thinking that I still have a thyroid problem.” Really, your doctor said that your thyroid is fine? Then why are you so exhausted and moody? Why is your hair falling out and your estrogen high? Why are you putting on weight? Why are you having a hard time losing weight despite your best efforts? Why are you lethargic, not sleeping well, and so sensitive to cold? Why do you have unexplained soreness and stiffness and have mad cravings? Among other problems?

One of my past client’s doctor dubbed me “parasitic and predatory” when my client showed this doctor the full list of thyroid labs I gave her (listed below) and the doctor emphatically stated that TSH was the only test my client would need. Wow.

Herein lies the big honkin’ problem with conventional thyroid “treatment” and all of the people running around fried, exhausted, and overweight. True, being fried, exhausted, and overweight can be the result of other issues, but often times, it’s a thyroid problem that many doctors are clueless about how to investigate. By using old guidelines and limited thinking, conventional medicine glosses over the millions who suffer with low thyroid function (hypothyroidism).

If the thyroid is our master gland of energy and metabolism, and you’re fatigued and overweight, you owe it to yourself to completely rule out hypothyroidism by getting the full range of labs performed by a doctor who is open-minded, understanding, and well-informed, not myopic and condescending. You can also perform a BBT test at home.

When it comes to thyroid labs, most doctors only check thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), which does not give a full picture of how the thyroid is functioning. Its nickname is Thyroid Stimulating Hooey (thanks, Janie Bowthorpe) and many doctors are married to it as the single indictor of thyroid function. TSH tells you how your pituitary gland is talking to your thyroid, but tells you nothing of overall thyroid function. In fact, even the interpretation of this test is incorrect most of the time.

Truth be told, TSH isn’t wholly irrelevant, but it tells only part of the story. TSH increases when thyroid function drops, and decreases when the thyroid is working. So you want low TSH. Many doctors believe that anything over 5.0 or sometimes even 10.0 is worth treating (WTF?). However, according to many functional medicine doctors, anyone with TSH over 3.0 is hypothyroid. Some doctors claim that women tend to feel best with TSH between .3 – 1.0.

But … “normal” or “low” TSH doesn’t necessarily mean that you aren’t hypothyroid. TSH is simply not the end-all-be-all for thyroid testing.

The list below includes the two tests for thyroid antibodies that would indicate the presence of Hashimoto’s, an autoimmune thyroid condition. Getting doctors to recognize a thyroid problem, run the proper tests, know how to interpret those labs, and treat adequately is often challenging in that it may require a change of doctors and a new way of thinking. Add to this the fact that most doctors know little about how to treat an autoimmune condition, including Hashimoto’s, and patients’ hypothyroidism can still be mistreated.

There is no drug, no pharmaceutical for any autoimmune condition. So even if a doctor knows what Hashimoto’s is, many won’t run the tests for it because their course of treatment wouldn’t change. They would do nothing differently for their patients. Most will tell you that autoimmune conditions are lifelong conditions. Not necessarily true. You deserve to know if you have thyroid antibodies, which indicates thyroid tissue attack. If you have Hashimoto’s, and you’re simply trying to mask symptoms with drugs, you’re barking up the wrong tree. Thyroid drugs can replace missing hormone, but they’ll never heal the thyroid.

Sometimes, doctors will run one antibody test without the other. What good does that do? If you end up getting tested for the antibody that you don’t have, it can be interpreted that you don’t have Hashimoto’s, when in fact you might. So it’s critical to have both tested.

“Another reason doctors don’t want to connect thyroid disease with weight gain is that they simply don’t understand very much about nutrition, metabolism, and the thyroid. They know the basic symptom list, they know how to do a thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) test, and they know how to write prescriptions. But they don’t know about nutrition. You’ve heard the old bromide about how most doctors spend about an hour on nutrition in medical school. Well, in addition to that hour, they spend a couple of hours on thyroid disease, and that completes their education on nutrition and metabolism. The complexities of the endocrine system, the delicate interplay that goes on between hormones, the brain, the stomach, the appetite, and the ability to store and burn fat, are not topics most doctors have studies or even understand.” – Mary Shomon

I’ve placed an asterisk next to the labs I feel reveal the most about thyroid function:

T3 (or Total T3) – This is the “big daddy” of thyroid hormones, affecting almost every physiological process in the body, including heart rate, growth and development, body temperature, and metabolism.
T4 (or Total T4) – Not that important, in my opinion. T4 is nicknamed “the storage closet.”
* Free T3 (or FT3) – Again, T3 is the “big daddy”, and the “free” in front of the T4 and T3 tells you what is available and unbound and therefore usable by the body. Without the “free,” the labs are only measuring the total of what’s there, which tell you nothing about what is available for use.
Free T4 (or FT4)
* Reverse T3 (or RT3) – Can block thyroid receptors and cause patients to be unresponsive to any thyroid hormone.
TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone)
* TPOab and TgAb (Thyroperoxidase antibody and Thyroblobulin antibody) – These are the two thyroid antibodies tests. Positive antibodies confirm autoimmune thyroiditis (Hashimoto’s), although some doctors say that antibodies less than 30 are “indications” of Hashimoto’s and don’t point to a raging case of Hashimoto’s. I still feel that it’s best to treat low levels of antibodies the same as if they were higher so that people aren’t on the slippery slope of increased autoimmunity.

Important: Unfortunately, low or no thyroid antibodies doesn’t necessarily mean that Hashimoto’s isn’t present. Some people’s systems are fatigued to the point that antibodies aren’t circulating in the blood, even though they do have thyroid tissue attack (thyroid autoimmunity). So antibodies tests can provide a false negative.

It’s important to compare lab results with functional reference ranges vs. the old, outdated, conventional reference ranges that so…many…doctors are still using. Here are the functional ranges, as shared with me by Dr. Laura Thompson of the Southern California Institute for Clinicial Nutrition:

Again, I’ve placed an asterisk next to the labs I feel reveal the most about thyroid function:

T3 (or Total T3): 100 – 180 ml/ul
T4 (or Total T4): 6 – 12 ug/d
* Free T3 (or FT3): 2.0 – 3.0 pg/ml
Free T4 (or FT4): 1.0 – 1.5 ng/dl
* Reverse T3 (or RT3): 90 – 350 pg/ml
* TPOab and TgAb (Thyroperoxidase antibody and Thyroblobulin antibody) – A positive antibodes test indicates Hashimoto’s (autoimmune hypothyroidism).

Jill Grunewald is a Minneapolis-based Holistic Nutrition Coach and health and wellness writer. She graduated from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in 2006 and in 2008, was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (autoimmune hypothyroidism). Jill is now in unmedicated remission, having incorporated only whole foods nutrition, botanicals, and lifestyle-based therapies to treat herself. Her health coaching practice focuses on teaching women with these same conditions how to emerge from the fog and regain their vitality with sound nutrition and other natural remedies. Learn more about Jill and her services at www.healthfulelements.com. Also, connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.