I am Loving This Winter!

Okay, slap me. I know. It's been a crazy cold, snowy, pent-up, nearly every school day is a late-start or cancelled sort-of-month for me too.

Our backyard winter wonderland

But with the snow and ice and cold brings cozy warm moments snuggled up inside with family. The other three seasons for us are just so chalked full with living life to its fullest, most of which is outside of the house.

At the beginning of this year, I was feeling run ragged after being too externally focused for so long by working too many part-time jobs (that I love), while trying to be all I can be for others. So while the sun seems to be taking a hiatus this winter, I decided I was going to be very focused on cultivating my own inner light.

Focusing on reconnecting with my own inner light has been the best thing I could of done for me and my family this winter. 

I know its helped my attitude to stay positive the last dreary month. I have been genuinely loving and embracing the slowing down and the quietness outside. I am loving the time to bond with my kids, get imaginative, get creative and focused on activities. This time of year, my kids always seem to surprise me with how well they get into their own little play zones, and get so creative.

My kids also drive me batty at times. Don't get me wrong.

Laying in the snow

To cultivate my inner light, this last month I have been focusing on getting daily time to myself for meditation, pranayama, yoga or self-reflecting. Along side with a daily physical outlet. Each are so important to me to keep myself in balance.

Journaling has always been a wonderful way for me to know myself more fully, and to connect to my creative side. I mostly stopped when I become a mother. Its nice to go back to this practice. It's so magical how getting my feelings onto paper helps me to heal, process and hopefully move on.

I finally felt strong enough to kick up the physical side a notch. On top of my usual yoga teaching and home practice, I added a bit of cardio, weights, and a 2-3 hot yoga classes a week. The hot yoga especially has helped to get my mental focus, and inner fire back. Welcome home pitta, my old friend. I have been so vatta for too long.

I discovered a few gems this month.

*  A daily "good habit" is easier to maintain than the sporadic habit.

* Good habits overall make you feel good and motivate you to keep going.

* Daily practice doesn't always feel good in the moment.

Most people's image of meditation or yoga is one of total serenity. But to just warn you. The raw truth to the matter is this:

Daily practice can be ugly. Downright ugly.

It can be so hard on you physically and emotionally. It can be heart-wrenching and body breaking. Daily practice can make you feel like a God or Goddess. It may make your feel like your highest self. Other days, it a sad, sloppy pathetic mess. It can be downright impossible or utterly uncomfortable. But change, strength, compassion are a few gifts that can come from letting yourself be open, real and aware.

My health is an ongoing "healing project". It isn't a straight line up. It is jagged, but at least it is up. I keep varying supplements, remedies, cleanses, diet and physical outlets. I've said it before, and I will say it again, my health issues have made me accountable for some lazy habits I picked up, and for that I am thankful.

Looks like February will be another long wintry month. So I hope I can continue to stock the inner fires to keep my mind and body healthy.

Namaste

Healthy Family Flu Prevention Tips

Looks like there are two sets of flu viruses taking families out left and right around my town. One that is a 24-hr stomach bug. The other more of a week-long fever, chills, and total yuckiness. 

One of us already got the overnight throw-up thing, but the rest of us are home-free. What we do to help boost our immune system:

1) Healthy Gut. A healthy gut helps to kill any viruses that enter into our gut. We try to take a daily good probiotic supplement. My youngest (3-years) always gets a little runny in the poo department so she skips this. We also try to add more fermented and probiotic foods, like kimchi, sauerkraut, kefir, and my latest favorite, fermented beat/ginger juice (sounds gross right. Nope, so good!) 

2) Vitamin C. Did you know your body can only absorb 19% of regular vitamin C? The balance of the Vit C remains in the gastrointestinal tract to attract water and loosen the bowels. We have this awesome recipe that infuses soy lecithin into absorbic acid (vit c) using a jewelry cleaner. Don't worry the jewelry cleaning only is used to make vit c. And the body can absorb something like 93%!  

3) Phlegm-Free. We are cutting back on dairy and wheat or anything that makes us more snotty/phlegmy. Virus/bacteria thrive in mucus! This may be why my mom always said, any time I buy ice cream in the winter the boys (my younger bros) always ended up sick by the end of the week. 

Gluten is a super-inflammatory. I am mostly wheat-free, and now when I cheat and eat wheat, the next day I am so snotty!

We take quercetin/bromelain natural supplements which are my personal miracle pills. Dries up upper respiration like a charm.

4) Don't touch your eyes! We all know about hand-washing. Duh. But your eyes are windows and is a way for germs to get into your body. This one is tricky for me. I had to train myself not to touch them when I am out in pubilc. At least during flu-season. I wear contacts and my eyes are always dry, so I am always touching them. 

5) Get moving. Simple. But making sure everyone in your family is getting their exercise can be tricky. So make it fun. Go bundle up and chase each other in the snow. You'll also soak up some vit D! There are so many health benefits to exercise (or if you prefer the term "increasing your heart rate by play"). So make it a priority for your family.

What else do you do to keep your immune system up this flu season? Tell me!

Namaste

DY

Top Lyme Must-Do List

Hi! Sorry you, or someone you love has Lyme disease. I've battled with it for nearly a year. Forty-five days of doxy and then lots of herbs and vitamins. Here is some tips that saved me.

1. Seek medical treatment right away if you see a bull's eye rash, or get a stiff neck and/or flu a week or so after being bit by a tick. Or after a week or two feel foggy in the head, weak, achy joints, tinkling in your extreamities, or just feel very "off".

2. Samento. This saved me after I stopped antibiotics. Its a super special form of the natural jungle plant called cats claw. When I run out of this for a few days I regress with Lyme. Good natural stuff! Can use with antibiotics. Here is where I get mine. (Use code GQJ111 to get $10 off your first order). Here is more about Samento.

3- Liver Cleanse. Do a liver cleanse. This means herbal and food appropriate. Pending this, at least drink as much liver detox tea as possible for at least a month. Or buy a liver tincture and take it at least twice a day. The liver detox herbs help get the liver cleansed so it can keep doing its job. The liver gets bogged down when you are trying to fight Lyme. The liver herbs help to detox your body from Lyme!

4- Diet = no sugar!!!!! Lyme feeds on it. Better to reduce all carbs (they turn into sugar if u have too much). No alcohol too.

5. Gut Health - Do something nice for your gut every day. Take a good probiotic pill. Or eat lots of kimchi, or drink kombacha, eat the real deal sauerkraut. Make your own yogurt or kifir. DO NOT already sweetened yogurt, even the fruit kind. There is just so much sugar in it. All that sugar pretty much cancels out the good. Only eat plain  yogurt, and add in what you need. Maybe just a touch of honey.  A healthy gut can process everything better. Lyme lives in the gut too. Double especially if you are/were on antibiotics.

Dr . Buhner is fabulous. Check his site. http://buhnerhealinglyme.com/

There are many other very wonderful and helpful herbs out there, but it depends on what Lyme symptoms you are experiencing.

For example, for athritis or joint pain:
-  the best things I have found are plain old cherries! They contain natural anti-inflamitories. You can buy a potent liquid form and take a spoonful when your symptoms flair.
- bone broth (or  gelatin) to help ease the joints.
- ginger compress. Just grade ginger into a compress and apply to achy area.
- no wheat!! Seriously. Back away from that bread. Unless it is gluten-free, but in which case, why bother really. Gluten is very very inflammatory!

Namaste and good luck on your Lyme journey!

Bit By a Tick? What Next?

Don't panic. It's hard. I know, they are ugly, and crawly, but take a deep breath.

Go get the tweezers.

Put the tip of the tweezers as close to the base of the skin as you can.

Hold firmly (but don't squeeze too tight) and pull straight up from the skin.

The tweezers will hopefully help minimize any tick breakage and subsequent oozing and mixing of tick fluids into your skin and bloodstream.

My mom has just informed me that smothering the tick with dish detergent on a cotton ball will work too. Less chance of it breaking off in the skin too. ** Edit. Apparently this may cause tick to regurgitate its stomach contents into the human body. So you don't want to do it since it may be carrying a disease **

Photo by Sarah Blankenbaker

Make sure to put an antibacterial ointment on the bite as soon as possible afterwards. Ticks carry all sorts of harmful diseases, so good to kill as much topically as you can right away.

Natural antibacterial ointments are preferred so those toxic chemicals don't get into your blood stream. Especially if its your child.

I use a wonderful 21 herb salve that my friend made from plants she grew locally. You can make your own healing salves to have ready for bites, injuries or skin alignments. Here is a link to a Make-Your-Own Salve article.

Lyme, You are Getting On My Nerves!

Seriously. Lyme on my nerves. Literally. And figuratively. Six months of the diet restrictions, mega-vitamins/supplements and here you are still. Rearing your ugly head. My hands are weird again.

Everyday is a constant battle of making sure I am taking care of myself enough or I get out of whack.  I'm a mom, an elderly care-giver, and a yoga-teacher who takes care of many, so sometimes its hard to be so focused on my needs. So its been challenging to say the least.

This disease changes and morphs so fast its hard for the body to keep up.

This nerve thing lately. I am blaming it on sugar. I have been cheating and having a few yogurt pretzels here one day, a couple small cookies there the next day. Other than my one daily cheat sometimes though, no sugar, or even honey. Ugh! Lymies love that sugar.

The weirdness in my hands and feet is a deal-breaker. I am a yogi. So this is particularly disturbing.

So I turned to my guru. I ask, "natural remedies for nerve-damage due to Lyme disease." 

Low and behold my google guru tells me: "Mycoplasma, a cell wall deficient bacteria and a common Lyme Disease co-infection, can actually carry part of the host's cell membrane on their surface when it leaves nerve cells.  This leads the immune system to believe that the host's antigen is a threat and it attacks its own host in what is known as an autoimmune response.  The immune system attacks the myelin sheath causing further nerve damage." Source

Nerves that are damaged can't effectively conduct electrical impulses. The result is numbness, tingling, pain, weakness and burning sensations.

The good news is that peripheral nerves, the ones running to my toes and fingers, possess the ability to regenerate and heal themselves. Phew.

My guru tells me that St. John's Wort could help. 

St. John's wort is known for its ability to repair nerve damage and reduce pain and inflammation. As an added bonus, it's supposed to be helpful for treating depression. Heck, a little more happy power won't hurt.

Less than a day after starting St. John's Wart, the feeling in my feet and hands started to come back. A week later and I'm feeling almost back at peak performance with my hands. Here I am, fingers just flowing freely without the dumbness I was starting to get with them.

I am so thankful for effective natural remedies, and the ones who came before me that figured them out. I really don't want to go back on antibiotics, that seem to reduce effectiveness over time.

Namaste

The Domestic Yogi

PS I order a lot of my herbs online at www.iherb.com. If you use my code GQJ111 you will get $10 off your first order over $40, or $5 off smaller orders.

Gut Power! Get Your Gut in Order to Heal Chronic Infections and Diseases

A series of strange events lead the way. The next thing I knew I was completely engrossed listening to an hour-long talk by someone claiming to know how to completely heal eczema naturally. No ointment. No pills.

Earlier that day, I was listening to Dr. Zorba Paster on NPR, tell a long-time sufferer of eczema that maybe she needed to try a new doctor. The caller's current doctor had been pushing the same ointment on her forever, even though she wasn't getting better. The same steroid ointment that she must not use much or her skin may become too thin. Dr. Zorba usually has numerous ideas for callers, and he seemed stumped. I felt the callers pain as complained of a lifetime of suffering with eczema and she didn't know what else to do.

As I listened to the interview of holistic practitioner Emily Bartlett, and author of ebook The Eczema Cure: Heal from the Inside Out with Real Food, I couldn't stop listening. My body was vibrating along with the wisdom she was revealing because it made total sense.

"Using cortisone cream to fix eczema is a bit like painting a rickety house that’s about to fall down. It makes it look better, and you may feel better for a short period of time – but ultimately the underlying issues must be healed." Eczema Cure, pg 6.

It turns out that eczema, like many other skin issues, is just a symptom of a deeper internal problem in the body that's gone out of whack. Typically, this imbalance is originating from poor digestion, and results in a  leaky gut (leaky gut syndrome).

Emily's daughter had a nasty case of eczema as soon as she started to eat solids. It took about six months to heal her daughter's internal system, but she is now healed and can drink milk (which before was a trigger). See her pictures below.

So many people I know suffer from gut issues and skin issues. I am on my own healing journey, so the knowledge she shared is helpful to me to make sure my internal system is operating at full speed so I can avoid nasty complications. My best success at staying healthy and healing is keeping my body in balance. I already told you how much better I feel after fixing my allergies naturally. Now it is time to get my gut in order.

Here is a summary of what I took away from her FOUR ACTION STEPS for getting getting your gut back into health, and curing eczema. (You are supposed to do all at the same time).

1. Eliminate Triggers
-This means environmental triggers or foods that triggers flare ups of skin or gut. Go to allergist if you can, or try the elimination diet. She prefers the elimination diet because she feels it is a truer test of how food effect you internally.
- Eliminate petroleum products (especially creams, because skin can't breathe and then becomes dependant on the petroleum product).

2. Clearing Inflammation
- I believe eliminating inflammation is key so it doesn't bog down your gut, and immune system.
-Fish oil (reduces inflammation). You need to take a lot of it. She recommends a good cod liver since it has extra vitamins and nutrients.
-Vitamin A rich food. (Liver is one).
-Anti-inflammatory foods like dandelion, cherries, berries, dark leafy greens.
-She didn't mention this in her talk, but modern wheat contains super-gluten which triggers an inflammatory response, so best to avoid wheat altogether.

3. Cultivate a Strong Immune System.
-Take a good oral probiotic pill. Good ones for eczema are l. raminosis (sp?) and l. luteri (sp?). There are a lot of probiotics that don't do anything. Type is REALLY important. Make sure you take it each and everyday. If it doesn't do any good in the first three days, then try another one.
-Eat fermented food, as much as possible. Kombacha, kimchi, sauerkraut (not the canned kind but the kid you get at a health store or make your own).  Make your own yogurt because it can have more probiotic in it.

4. Eating Right to Heal
- Bone soup heals the intestine walls! (For example, the broth from cooking a whole chicken). She recommends eating a cup (or if its a child 1/2 cup) bone soup every day. You can use the broth when you cook rice, make jello with it, or freeze in icecube trays to add to other foods.
- Eat cultured food, raw milk.
- Eliminate the junk! Sugar and refined foods reek havoc on your internal system!
- Live Food! Eas those veggies, especially raw. There are great micro-organisms and live enzymes that foods that come straight from the soil contain.
- Go back to old fashion fats: butter, animal fats, bacon, coconut oil, ect. These are better on your internal system.

Random Fact: Did you know the birth control pill disrupts your gut health! So you need to be really mindful in taking your probiotic pills, eating fermented foods and eating healthy.

Now, go and get that gut power in order!

Waking up Different After 20 Years

This is unbelievable. The last few weeks I have been waking up light and energetic. Even noticing how happy I feel right away even if I am swirling in the busyness that motherhood brings from the moment I open my eyes. WHAT IS HAPPENING?

For almost 20 years now, I have been waking up congested  full of snot, sneezy and super groggy. It usually takes about 2 hours to get rid of it. Its embarrassing, and annoying.

The 12th grade pre- Domestic Yogi 

I remember the exact time it all started. It was the beginning of 12th grade, the end of September, and I remember thinking that I had a cold that would just not go away.

I started to feel better in the mornings, ironically, 3 months post-Lyme. I went off antihistamines after I realized I had Lyme. The antihistamines seemed to be greatly exasperating the situation. I got through my antihistamine detox and changed my diet, then *poof* all of a sudden I was feeling much less snotty all the time.

The odd time I cheated and had wheat, I woke up the next day a little more snotty and sneezy.

I don't think I am allergic to wheat, but wheat is a trigger. Modern wheat, now-a-days contains a sort of "super gluten" that is super inflammatory. Here is an interesting article about modern wheat in HuffPost.

After my Live Blood Cell Analysis, it was suggested I go on plant-based supplements Quercetin and Bromelain. They are known for their anti-inflammatory properties, and work to help boost the body's natural allergy fighting mechanism (amongst other things).

Ever since I started to take these new supplements, I feel like my 16-year-old-self again! Well, almost. Hopefully more the wiser.

It feels different than over-the-counter allergy medicine too. (Jim explained the technical chemical difference to me too, but I can't remember).

All's I know is "Stella's Got Her Groove Back."

Me, 20 years later!

Live Blood Cell Analysis Shines Spotlight on My Health

Healthy Blood Cells 

Today I had an amazing opportunity to get Live Blood Cell Microscopy done in hopes of helping me assess the state of my health. As revealed in my post, Just Hanging Out with Lyme, I have had some unfortunate setbacks to my health, and am in the process of building my health and immune system back up.

After changing my diet to eliminate wheat, sugar, yeast, alcohol, and seemingly all things delicious, and finishing the year up with a great 30-day herbal detox, I finally started to get my vitality and strength back. Lately, I can still feel the lyme creeping up on me now and again, but it is stuffed way down there, so as long as I don't overdo it or become too stressed, everything has been in check.

Or am I just dreaming? Am I just too hopeful and positive that all my hard work/sacrifice has been helping?

Enter Live Blood Cell analysis.

It provides information about the state of the immune system, possible vitamin deficiencies, amount of toxicity, pH and mineral imbalance, areas of concern and weaknesses, fungus and yeast. Here is a really cool video that gives you an idea of how much can be revealed with looking at your live blood. It shows the remarkable differences that can happen of people with chronic diseases by primarily taking nutritional supplements just after a few months.

We are so lucky to have a medical technologies in town that has been doing this for 20 years, and just started a new business, called Club Rejuve, that offers it for a fraction of the cost in a medical clinic. Not only that, but he sat down and talked with me for two hours!

I was dying to know if my blood was crawling with critters and where I am weak. Just like a predator in the wild, lyme and other bacteria/viruses love to feed on the weak. Then after feeding, comes re-population. Eek.

Jim Lane, the Medical Technologist, knew I was dealing with Lyme, and had warned me that he has seen lots of people whose blood was absolutely riddled with bacteria and fungis so bad that you could barely discifer any blood cells.

So I prepared myself for the worst.

And with just one little prick of my finger, like many diabetics do to test blood sugar, so much was revealed in my blood that I could write a short novel.

To spare you too many details, I was relieved to see that, overall, my blood looked quite healthy! Whoot!

The funniest part was when he asked me what I last ate. I was mortified to tell him that I had a plate full of homemade french fries an hour earlier. Hmm. He scowled at me.

"What type of oil? Coconut?"he asked.
"Uh, no."
"Deep fried?"
"Yep."
Then he investigated the potatoes, "New potatoes? Organic?" he pressed on.
"Ugh...no idea."
"You know you can bake potatoes..."
"I swear I usually eat healthy. I know way too much about this stuff. I just rushed home after teaching yoga and ate what my husband offered up [minus the illegal-for-me grilled cheese]. I swear."
He didn't look impressed or like he believed me one bit. I don't blame him either.

Well, at least my blood spoke up for me. Jim was very surprised to see in my blood very few big-globby-sticky-trasnfat-sludge-thingies  (my words). Cholesterol I assume. It goes on to combine with others globs to clog your arteries and slow down the free flow of your blood. He even went on to say the levels were way below normal.  "Oh, you really don't eat fried foods," he said. Ha.

The GROSSEST part though was to see lots of dot-like particles floating around in the blood plasma. "See those," Jim pointed at the dots, "those are the fat partials from your lunch." Yuck. At least, for whatever reason, it proved that my digestion was pretty good. We need fat in our blood though, said Jim. But its better to have the good fats. He recommended me take more fish oil/DHA supplements  especially because there were some "ghost cells", or weakly formed cells.

THE BAD

IT was there. THEY were there. Eating away at the weak blood cells. Those little squiggly worm-like spirochetes that created this whole mess in my body (aka lyme). Along with some other strange bacteria probably related to the original spirochetes (they morph and change form). I saw them with my own eyes. Disheartening to see I still had work to do, but I knew that. I knew they were still there. The good news is they were just in a few small pockets. Not everywhere overflowing.

A spirochete

He recommended herbs I am already taking, teasel root, cat's claw (I am on the specialized version called Samento which is really great to fight Lyme). As well as Oregano Oil derived from the Mediterranean oregano. It is an antiviral, and helps with yeast too, which , yes I had too.

Yes, traces of  yeast in my plasma clogging up my blood even though I have cut out sugar, wheat, and yeast from my diet for four months. *Sigh*

THE STRANGE

Then there were some really really strange looking red blood cells. Some that were spiky-looking instead of oval, and a couple that looked more like the shape of a bunny in Annies Mac & Cheese. The spiky ones are due to free-radical damage. The reason why those marketing gods are always promoting antioxidants. So guess I will be loading up on antioxidants to help prevent more free-radical damage.

The bunny shaped ones, Jim said, are due to radiation. Radiation could be from a dentist office, x-rays, radon in the earth, or electromagnetic radiation from cell-phones, or compact florescent lights (CFLs), or computers ect. (I knew that florescent lighting in school/work always made me sick!) There are many articles out there about how CFLs are not good for our health, like this one. The "green movement" supports shifting to CFL for the environment, but I have never been on board due to the "dirty energy" they emit.

Also lurking deep in my cells were some fibrous strands that Jim said were a sort of fungus. (Fungus in my blood, what!) He asked if I get cysts because these sort of fiber-strand-fungi can develop into cysts and even cancer.

Fibrous-fungi in the blood

He recommended the health supplement Bromelain (1000ml twice a day) to help rid my blood of these fungi-fibers. As an added bonus the Bromelain helps as an anti-inflammatory, which for a Lyme sufferer who experiences arthritic-like symptoms, this is wonderful. Bromelain is "one of the most popular supplements in Germany, where it is approved by the Commission E for the treatment of inflammation and swelling of the nose and sinuses due to surgery or injury."*

LESSONS

Lessons learned: eat antioxidants, stay away from wheat, yeast and radiation! Plus, our gut health is so important to overall health! Without proper digestion in the gut, things (critters and fungi) can get into your blood and reek havoc!

I walked away feeling pretty good, but I still have work to do. It was so nice to be armed with direct knowledge of what exactly was going on in my blood and healthy options to help remedy. I hope I can go back in 4 months to see how I am doing again. Blood cells have a 4-month cycle.

I recommend everyone get this done! It can really help you know where exactly you are lacking and where you need to improve.

* Source about Bromelain.

Feeling Sexy From the Most Unexpected Place

Normally in the winter my skin feels so dry and foreign to me, no matter how much moisturizer or oils I use. Sure, yoga helps to reconnect and enliven my cold body in the winter, but still my skin always seems to feel disconnected and dull.

Enter, body brush.

Oh my. The invigoration. The heightened senses. AND, the fabulous soft and smooth skin. And it's winter.  Winter. Booya.

Skin is our largest organ. We sense so much through our skin. Chemicals and toxins move out of our body through our skin (as well as chemicals from the environment leaking into our bodies through our skin). When our skin is tough and thick like an elephant, it will dull our senses and decrease our overall health.

BENEFITS OF DRY SKIN BRUSHING

1. Firms your skin to reduce the aging process of the skin. That means it counters the sagging, bagging, wrinkles and cracks. Claims to even break up cellulite.
2. Boosts blood circulation, bringing fresh blood to your skin to help replenish it. This also helps to eliminate toxins. 
3. Stimulates lymph circulation which also aids to detox harmful bacteria and other waste products from your body. 
4. Invigorate the nervous system by activating the near 3 million nerve points that are located under the skin. 
5. Exfoliates the skin removing dead skin cells and unclogging pores. This helps to keep the skin soft and supple.
6. Tones muscles. The circular strokes feel great, like a quick massage.

FOR BEST RESULTS

1. Use a natural fiber brush. You can get one a your local drugstore.
2. Use right before the bath or shower. It takes just a few minutes. 
3. With a dry brush (no water!) start at your extremities (hands and feet) and work with firm circulars strokes towards your heart. 
4. Include your palms, nipples and soles of your feet (eek!)
5. Bath or shower as usual. Following with moisturizer or oil as necessary.
6. Wash your brush every week or so with mild soap and air dry.

DRY BRUSHING VS LUFFA SPONGE OR CREAMS

1. Hands down dry brushing takes the cake. Dry brushing seems to get so much more skin off and stimulate the muscles and circulations so much better than the other two. 
2. No extra chemicals or substances on your skin (that could leach into it) like when you are using the cream exfoliants. 
3. Less extra product to buy (Just say no to material consumption when you can).

The first time I tried it, I had to brush very lightly. But now after about a month, I can go quite firmly. It feels good on my muscles, like a quick massage. 

Body brushing has been the best three-minute a day gift I have given to myself since Christmas. It really helped me to feel alive and sexy in my skin this winter! I highly recommend you add it to your daily routine.