Do you wish you were feeling better? Is your digestion locked down with unpleasant gut responses? Perhaps your respiratory system feels congested. Are you feeling fatigued, tired, or just plain overwhelmed? If you’re experiencing cold or flu symptoms, listen up. If you’re suffering from symptoms of ill health such as obesity, blood sugar imbalance, or musculoskeletal aches and pains, know that you are not alone and I am here to support your recovery.
When it comes to feeling better, there is just no time to waste, so let’s dive right in.
For symptoms of ill health, take these 7 steps immediately:
#1: Check Your Mindset
This is your #1 critical step; do NOT underestimate it. You need to know and embody that you are experiencing conditions and conditions change. When you change your environment, you change your conditions. How do you change your environment? You change your environment with holistic daily lifestyle practices. This entire 7 step list is in fact made up of daily lifestyle practices. Again I urge you—do NOT underestimate this step.
#2: Accept, Embody, & Practice a Healing Affirmation
A healing affirmation will help distract those thoughts that take you down. We’re talking about the power of your mind, and believe me, it is extraordinarily powerful. You must notice and consider your choices of how you are using your thoughts, and even more importantly, your EMOTIONS. The universe follows your thoughts and emotions; this is simply Universal Law.
Because we are looking through a holistic lens, know that you cannot negate any part of yourself, your essence, the whole of who you are—body, mind, and spirit—and fully heal, reach optimal health, or experience true freedom. It’s just not possible. If you have intentionally or inadvertently detached your mind from your body experience, bring her back in now.
Keep your affirmation simple and make sure it speaks to you i.e., that you resonate with it. Here are some examples: “I am well.” “I am healing.” “I am healthy, vibrant, and loved.” Will this alone heal you? Probably not. However, it is a SIGNIFICANT piece when it comes to fine-tuning your mind to set your direction.
For 2 days, every hour on the hour, recite your affirmation but not just in an intellectual way. Take it into your body with some deep breaths. Really FEEL IT. After about 2 days, your affirmation should start to make appearances on its own.
If you dismiss the power of intentional, positive affirmation, try this on for size. Hunker down into repetitive, pessimistic thoughts such as, “I’ll never feel better,” “I’ll always feel like crap,” or “This mindset stuff just doesn’t work,” and ask yourself how that’s working for you?
#3: Slow Down… Way Down!
Take everything OFF your plate, off your calendar, and out of your schedule that you possibly can. I know you might think it’s impossible and certainly I understand that you may not be able to clear your entire schedule, but please, to the best of your ability… remove what’s not absolutely necessary.
You are going into the Healing Zone.
For at least 1 week, if not more, consider yourself inside the Healing Zone, focusing primarily on YOU—your health and relationship to Your Life. This is the time for rest—deep, deep rest. I give you permission to rest as much as you possibly can and sleep as much as you desire (preferably between the hours of 10:00pm and 6:00/7:00am). This is where the repair actually happens. When you STOP.
#4: Flush Your System
If you’re not feeling well, with either acute or chronic symptoms and conditions, it’s likely due to inflammation and toxicity. Inflammation and toxicity are the root causes of most dis-ease. As you flush your system in a two-part approach, you will decrease both toxicity and inflammation. This is powerful medicine in your healing protocol.
Part-one: Hydrate. Drink 1/2 your body weight in ounces of fresh, pure water daily. For example, if you weigh 200 pounds, do your best to drink 100 ounces of fresh, pure water daily. I know firsthand this can be difficult, annoying really. Consider what’s inside of you—organs, cells, tissue, and blood. It’s critical to keep your insides flushed, clear, and moving.
Feel free to add as much lemon to your water as you like. Lemon is one of the most alkalizing foods available. Be sure to sip your water throughout the day; do not drink it all at once, as you want to give your body a chance to absorb nutrients and not overload your kidneys.
Part-two: Veggie Juicing. Either you’ve heard about the benefits of juicing or you’re already doing it. Juicing vegetables (with minimal fruit) will provide a straight shot of micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, and enzymes) to your cells. Because you are removing the pulp (fiber), your digestive system will do very little work to digest.
This means your body can spend its energy HEALING. Don’t worry; you can get your fiber in other ways throughout the day. This is a glass of medicine and does not need to be your fiber source.
It’s called “veggie juicing” for a reason; to juice a ton of fruit defeats the purpose. Fruits are cleansing, yes, but they are also high in sugar. Remember, when you juice and remove the fiber, you’re getting a straight shot to your cells. You don’t want a straight shot of sugar.
Go for celery and/or cucumbers for your base as they are both high in water content and will produce significantly more liquid than other vegetables (cucumbers are technically a non-sweet fruit). Then add leafy greens—kale, spinach, chard, romaine, or dandelion. For a bit of sweetness, add up to 1 carrot or 1/2 apple per quart of juice. Feel free to add ginger, parsley, cilantro, turmeric root, peppers, lemon, or any other veggies you love.
Veggie juice is MEDICINE (click for video). Like any medicine, it’s important you know your dosage. While I suggest a minimum of 1 quart per day to flush your system of toxins, you can work up to this gradually. It’s not just the amount you need to manage, but also the timing. In conjunction with your particular blood sugar patterns, eating 60 minutes before or after drinking your juice may be advised.
Remember, this is about integrating veggie juice into your meal plan. Doing a juice “feast,” (what others have called a “fast”) is a whole different ballgame and one I suggest doing under the care or supervision of an experienced holistic educator.
#5: Hot & Cold Hydrotherapy
Let’s move your circulation. Your blood carries nutrients to your cells and tissue and removes the waste (think toxins). It’s critical your blood freely circulates without inhibition or stagnation. It’s time to WAKE UP your organs, cells, and tissue with hot and cold hydrotherapy treatment.
Here’s what you’ll do: 3x/day (remember you’ve created time to be in the Healing Zone), you’ll get in the shower. Do 3 rounds of alternating hot and cold water. First, enjoy a few minutes of hot and then reduce the hot for a 15 to 30 second cold blast. Do this a minimum of 3 times (5 is fine too); please be mindful NOT to scald yourself. End your shower with cold or cool water.
#6: Move Your Body in Nature
You are creating an environment to change your conditions and there’s no better place to do so than the great outdoors. Nature is healing in and of herself; integrate body movement and you’ve got a winning combination for healing. Get as wild into nature as you can—ocean, rivers, mountains, forest. If you don’t have wild nearby, find a park, a backyard, or a balcony. Just breathe outdoor air and move your body.
Move slowly and intentionally. This is NOT about pushing out, but rather, it’s about taking in. Breathe deeply and deepen into your affirmation at the same time. Some good options are walking, stretching, swimming, yoga, and leisurely bike riding. Feel your body in nature; do not PUSH her. You may be amazed by how healing this truly is. If you have symptoms of ill health… take your shoes off and connect your body to the earth.
#7: Eat Clean
Eating clean for the purposes of decreasing inflammation and toxicity and alkalizing your system means the plants are a’ calling. That’s right; increasing plant-based foods will assist you in shifting from an acidic meal plan and lifestyle (chronic stress-responses) to an alkalizing one. Choose raw, living (enzyme-rich) vegetables, fruits, raw, soaked nuts, and seeds.
This is about INCREASING your plant-based foods; you do not need to eat them 100% only. If you’d like to, by all means please do! These pure foods are dense in micronutrients—vitamins, minerals, and enzymes—and will feed your system what it needs to thrive. Try consuming 50% to 75% raw, living foods. Guess what? It’s time to decrease or better yet eliminate junk food, processed foods, alcohol, coffee, and refined sugars (this includes flour). This will be your protocol for as long as you are in the Healing Zone.
I’d Love to Hear from You!
Have you tried any of these steps for symptoms of ill health? If so, what happened? I’d love to know what’s worked for you? Please share here with the community so we can all learn from each other. If you have any questions or need clarifications, please leave a comment below.
Peaceful healing…