The field of mind/body medicine is the new frontier of medicine. Research has validated the mind/body connection and how it can affect healing and create positive change in the individual. For many years, we have put our doctors on a pedestal and given them all the power to make us better. We need doctors and they are a vital part of health care but there also needs to be a shift back to the individual; a shift into self empowerment. What can you do in your own life to help yourself heal? How can you use your mind in a way that promotes healing and a return to optimal wellness?  How do you harness the inherent power of the mind and focus it like a laser in the direction of your current imbalance to correct your course? Mind/body medicine views illness as an opportunity for personal growth and transformation. When viewed this way, it takes the fear out of illness and substitutes a new word – challenge…

Certainly in my own life experience, I viewed my illness as an opportunity to connect with my awareness and it was a powerful life altering experience for the better. It really woke me up and transformed my sense of ‘being’. Seeing yourself as a victim of your current health challenge does not put you in a state of being that optimizes healing. It makes you shrink in the face of your predicament.  Start to see your health imbalance or illness as a challenge and a way to empower yourself. Look for all the reasons why this challenge may have shown up in your life? Is is challenging you to grow in a new direction, become more authentic in the way that you live your life, connect in a more heart centred way with those around you, or heal from old emotional hurts? Is it challenging you to change your diet and lifestyle and put more emphasis on self care or change your perspective on a whole lot of things that are showing up in your life?

There are so many reasons why an illness will show up; use is to catalyse your own self transformation. Mind/body medicine tools such as meditation, guided imagery and biofeedback are very powerful tools to have in your healing tool box. All of these tools can help shift the expression of the autonomic nervous system for starters. Many people in Western culture spend a good majority of their life in the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system- this is the fight or flight branch of the nervous system otherwise known as the stress response. This is the ‘be prepared for danger’ side of our psyche. This side prepares us for battle but does not help us heal. M/B tools shift the expression of the autonomic nervous system to the parasympathetic branch – this side fosters healing. The parasympathetic branch is all about rest and relaxation, digesting your food, feeling a sense of calm, a slower heart rate…being versus doing…

You have to utilize self discipline to maximize your healing and benefit from using mind/body medicine in your life. You need to learn one tool whether it be meditation, guided imagery or biofeedback and set aside time in your day and night and be consistent. I suggest 30 minutes twice daily. By making it part of your daily practice, you are bringing ‘healing’ into your mind/body/spirit axis and as a nice side benefit, you are more centred, more loving and more effective in the rest of your day. You are empowered and can see the results that come from your self discipline and focus – more healing in your physical body and a sense of trust that no matter what shows up in your life in terms of your health, you are well equipped to deal with it. For more information on these tools or to learn how to use them, please book an appointment at my office. Until then, remember how powerful you are and how you can influence your health in a positive way.

Supporting your immune system

To support your immune system this fall, stock your fridge with fresh ginger, lemons, shitake mushrooms, garlic and lots of orange and yellow vegetables. The most important nutrients for the immune system are Vitamin C, Vitamin A, and zinc. Vitamin C is found in peppers, kiwis, and oranges. Vitamin A is found in orange and yellow vegetables such as carrots, squash and sweet potatoes. Zinc is found in red meat and chicken.

To boost your immunity a great cold and flu tea is as follows:

Take fresh ginger root and cut off a two inch piece. Peel the ginger and grate the ginger into a saucepan. Cut three slices of fresh lemon. Cut off the peel and throw the lemon in the saucepan.  Add six cups of water and bring to a boil. When it’s boiling, turn the heat down to medium and simmer for the next ten minutes. This is a great tea which has antiviral properties because of the ginger. The addition of the lemon makes the tea more alkaline which shifts your pH to one that is more health promoting.

Feed a cold but starve a fever. If you have a fever, listen to your body and only consume clear fluids until the fever comes down in temperature.

If you find you have frequent colds, take 1000 mg Vitamin C daily through the fall and winter months. If you feel like you are coming down with something (sore throat, fever), I would take 1000 mg every hour until you are feeling better. This will often prevent an infection. If you dose until the point of diarrhea, then you have gone too far. Everyone has a level of bowel tolerance; if you get diarrhea from dosing Vitamin C then you have reached saturation of the tissues. Because Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin you cannot overdose; you will just get diarrhea if you take too much. Talk to your naturopath before you take Vitamin C if you are on conventional medications.

Homeopathic medicines are very effective to prevent flu. Mucococcinum, a clinically proven homeopathic preparation, formulated to stimulate the body’s own defenses in order to combat all types of influenza. It is prepared with homeopathic dilutions of the worst flu epidemics of the 20^th century. Double-blind, placebo-controlled studies have shown mucococcinum is 88% effective in the prevention of any flu type. Dose one tablet every 2 weeks for the entire cold and flu season (late fall, winter and early spring). See me for more information on Mucococcinum.

Belladonna 30c is another good homeopathic remedy to have on hand. Take 5 pellets when you have a high fever and sore throat away from food and drink; dose five pellets every 20 minutes if necessary. If after 3 doses, you notice no improvement, then stop dosing. Stop dosing once you notice any improvement, even if it is slight.

Herbal medicines to boost immunity include Echinacea, Cold Fx, oil of oregano or cat’s claw tincture. Don’t use the same antiviral all the time; your body will get used to it and it will not be as effective. I recommend rotating antivirals every ten days if you are around people who are sick or you cannot afford to get sick yourself.

Basic hygiene is so important as well. Wash your hands frequently with warm water and soap. Sing happy birthday to yourself to determine the amount of time needed to get rid of germs. Do not touch your nose, eyes, mouth as you go about your day. Get adequate sleep (at least 6.5 hours) and exercise daily for at least 30 minutes unless you are under the weather. Drink enough water (your urine is pale yellow or clear). Think good thoughts! People who are more optimistic tend to have stronger immunity.

We think countless numbers of thoughts daily so it is best to be vigilant about what you are thinking. Are you aware that your thoughts can make you feel bad and that you can direct your thoughts in a way that makes you feel good? I pay attention to what people are saying to me and there overall feeling tone as well as my feeling tone and what I am saying to others. I really notice when other people are talking negatively about something and will often stop them and point that out to them in a loving way. I ask those around me to do the same when I am in their presence. It helps us both stay conscious and aware of the present moment. 

There is always going to be negativity in the world (but there is a lot of good in the world as well.) One must view the glass as half full…it feels so much better. I have had to work on my ‘head space’. There was a time when I was my own worst enemy; not now. I had my own health crisis (the inherent gift). That woke me up eight years ago but the journey goes on… there are always challenges but that is the life journey, it’s what is. Can you find the joy in it?

I love myself now so I notice thoughts that are potentially injurious to my interior space when they show up. I do not give these thoughts the space to grow and multiply; if they creep in, I am mindfully aware of them.  I then choose to direct my thought to something that feels better. It is a choice in every moment. I am far from perfect but I am self aware. Catching the thought in that moment and choosing a thought that feels better is key.

Esther and Jerry Hicks wrote a fantastic book that talks about feeling states and climbing up the emotional guidance scale in ‘Ask and It is Given’. Cindy Teevens who won the spiritual author contest with her book ‘ Alchemy – How to Feel Good no matter what’ continues on with the thread. What I most appreciated about her book was her comment about how all thoughts that keep you feeling separate lead to suffering. That is so true! That is a good filter to view your thoughts through – if they cause you to feel separate (ego) choose another thought. All thoughts that cause you to feel separate automatically create suffering. If you realize that, then you can choose thoughts that cause you to feel more connected to others – those thoughts feel better to think.

For example, if I am going to a party and  I think thoughts like ‘I won’t know anybody. I am socially awkward’ then how good will I feel when I get to the party? Not great, right? I am already in a state of anxiety because of what I am thinking before I get to the party. Those thoughts are keeping me feeling separate from others. What if I thought, ‘I really want to open my heart to people and find out about them tonight. I want to come from a loving place.’ These thoughts are coming from an ego-less space of connection. Feels better right?

Cognitive therapy is so important for your state of well being. It gets easier once you start being mindful of your thoughts. You can choose thoughts that make you feel bad and you can choose thoughts that make you feel good – your choice. Do you love yourself? Do you naturally gravitate to thoughts that ensure that you can’t be accepted or loved unless you do x, y or z? How about just accepting yourself in this moment because it feels so much better than telling yourself that you are not okay unless you are better or more (ego) – all the things that keep you feeling separate versus connected to others.

We all need to connect right now, to love others as they are, to accept them in their imperfection, that is something you choose (just like thoughts) and in that moment of accepting you send an affirmation to all your cells and your being ‘I can be loved despite my imperfections’ because I accept imperfections in others (which is the human condition). Now that is something that feels good. You can choose thoughts that make you feel good. Try it and let me know how it goes!