Hoarding..... in mind, body & spirit

Old Shoes.   As I put on this crummy old pair of shoes, the right toe flapping loose, the whole shoe swimming slightly on my foot – it occurred to me (actually, I had an epiphany) I could throw these shoes away!   What an idea!  The only reason I have all of this old crappy clothing laying around is that I don’t throw it away!   Does anyone else find herself(himself) with ratty, old stuff that you somehow can’t (don’t) get rid of?!    It’s a large intestine issue.   In Traditional Chinese Medicine, holding on or hoarding are functions of an imbalanced large intestine meridian.   Often it also is reflected by … you got it …. Constipation.     It isn’t that uncommon for me to do a session with someone and they will say later his/her constipation went away.   One of the great ‘side effects’ of acupressure are the side effects!    So.   If you are constipated, try throwing something away, or clean a closet …. Or recognize and honor and release an old hurt, grudge or grief.    Our bodies hold our joy and our hurt just like we hold onto unusable shoes.    Happy Monday – may we all have joy in the beauty around us, and within us!

cancer food bible - Anti-Cancer, A New Way of Life

www.anticancerbook.com

If you have been diagnosed with cancer, or someone you love has been, the “must read” food bible is David Servan-Schreiber’s  Anti-Cancer, A New Way of Life.    This is a surprisingly readable handbook for eating to “not” feed the cancer while you fuel your body.   There are so many amazing stories in this book that it is hard for me to pick one out.   Servan-Schreiber is an MD and PhD as well as a cancer survivor, and makes the point that if you don’t change your life and the way you deal with it, the possibility of survival dramatically declines.    A friend asked him (after his successful cancer treatment) what he’d done to change his life to avoid recurrence.   The idea that he needed to change his life hadn’t even occurred to him.   When his cancer recurred, he got the message.   This book is an excellent chronicle of our changing (changed) environment and how it has changed the food we eat, including simple steps to minimize impact in your life.   Every person should read the book whether they’ve looked cancer in the face or not.

The Cleanse - aftermath

Quick update on “The Cleanse”   I feel great!  I still have a sore place at edge of right rib, but I think that’s a bruise from leaning over a gate!! It was worth it!!   I don’t have that feeling of rocks in the gullet.

My Personal Gall Bladder Cleanse

What I have noticed about Body Talk, a body tapping type of bodywork, is that it is very detoxifying.   While that is usually good, I began to notice that I had a pain under my right rib.   That pain is a classic symptom of gall bladder pain.   Since the gall bladder stores bile for the liver, it is also a great holding place for stones and all kinds of debris.   If my body is detoxifying,  it only makes sense that the liver is detoxing, too – and sending gunk to the gall bladder.   Adding that to our typical American diet which already stresses the gall bladder and liver.   I’ve researched liver/gall bladder cleanses before, but never done one.   Now I have.   I will admit it isn’t fun.   I used a combo of Paul Pitchford’s “Healing with Whole Foods” and Dr. Hulda Clark’s detox programs.    The steps are pretty simple.   Step 1:  eat a lot of apples, preferably green, and drink apple juice for one day.   That softens the stone.   Step 2:  drink a concoction of Epsom salts and water 2 times toward evening (even worse than it sounds!).  That relaxes and opens the bile ducts.    Step 3: drink an olive oil/grapefruit/lemon juice concoction and go to bed.  This purges the liver and moves the stones and junk out of the gall bladder.    This morning I was supposed to drink 2 more drinks of Epsom salts to clean the bowels.   Since that seemed to be happening pretty well with what  I’d already taken, I passed on the grand finale.    Today the program is light eating – fruit, vegetables, whole grains, no fat, meat or dairy.   By tomorrow I’m supposed to feel like a new woman.   I’ll let you know – but the pain in my mid-section is gone.    Liver/gall bladder cleanses are recommended twice a year, according to Dr Hulda.   Maybe that’s enough time to forget how that Epsom salts tastes.

Ps.   I chose not to do an intense analysis of the results, so I have no evidence of stones or other interesting keepsakes.   So don’t ask.  But I do feel better!

Where’s the Research in Acupressure and Alternative Therapies?

I was searching for documented alternative therapy cases for an article.  That turned out to be a lot of work and not much reward.  Over and over I read, “results could not be reliably duplicated,”  “results could not be confirmed.”  

When a new drug comes onto the market it has been tested and reviewed ad nauseam - and a lot of money has been poured into that process.    There is a lot of research and development around drugs for the simple reason that drug companies have a lot of money to invest (and a lot of money to gain) from successful testing.  

There isn't a lot of money to invest in acupressure research.  First of all - where would you start?   There are so many modalities, all independent and often independently developed, that the research and "reproducible" elements required for documentation would have to categorized and put into a clear, concise format used by all practitioners.   That alone would require a major organizational effort, but inroads are being made.   The benefits to the health care system are easily recognized – less cost, fewer negative side effects, and increased general well-being. 

Slowly alternative therapies are being included in doctors’ rehabilitation plans.   Our local hospital, Clarinda Regional Health Center, now offers massage therapy and hypnosis, and we are investigating ways to add acupressure to the list.  This is good news on many levels, not least being that there will be more clinically documented results as hospitals and clinics around the country add more alternative therapy options.

My point is that the lack of research isn’t lack of results -  just complications in documentation.   Be your own judge and try acupressure today!

Comments to share?    Just click on the “Comments” button at the bottom,   or do you have a story to share?   Email me at  bethsteeve@gmail.com    I’d love to hear from you!

Beth Steeve, Licensed Acupressure Practitioner

Acupressure Access and Hands-On Health

www.acupressure-access.abmp.com

Every Breath You Take......

Breathing. We do it unconsciously - unless we don’t.  When we’re thinking about breathing, it’s usually because something is wrong.  But how does it really work?  Just a quick primer.   The inhale floods the lungs with oxygen which is then absorbed by the alveoli (tiny air sacs) and ultimately transported throughout the body via the blood in the circulatory system.   This oxygen exchange is the energetic foundation of life. Our molecular bodies are bundles of frequencies, from the low, denser frequency of bones to the highest frequencies which are comprised of our emotions and thought processes.  John Veltheim explains in The Body Talk System® that with every exhale the brain scans all of the body systems held within the lower frequencies.   As we inhale the higher frequencies are scanned. This scanning process alerts the brain to malfunctions within the frequencies of the body, and the brain sends healing to the malfunctioning area.   If this sounds futuristic, Veltheim has a lot of support in the quantum physics camp.   Since I know nothing about quantum physics, I will plod on.   When in pain,  a person tends to breathe more shallowly, which in turn short circuits the scanning process and the brain does not get the message of malfunctioning so it can send the troups to start the healing cycle.  So why am I going on and on about this?   Take a few moments every day and consciously breathe.    Mary Burmeister of Jin Shin Jyutsu, Inc. advocates 36 conscious breaths a day - all at once or in 4 series of 9 throughout the day. (See my note on Facebook/Acupressure Access.)  Deep breathing is the key to better health and the natural healing process that is our birthright.   For more information, this process is explained in depth in the book The BodyTalk System available on John Veltheim’s website   www.bodytalksystem.com  In my sessions, I've found BodyTalk®, an innovative light-touch therapy, to be an amazingly effective addition to my work.   For more information, call or email me:   bethsteeve@gmail.com or (712) 542-1100!   Come see for yourself!