The Art of Retracing

One of the most beautiful and difficult aspects of a deep healing journey that focuses on detox and nutritional balancing is the phenomena called retracing. This is when we begin to experience strong emotions and physical sensations that make us wonder “Am I healing? Or am I getting sick? Am I getting worse or amidst a breakthrough?” Very often when the symptoms start, it is impossible to know whether or not you are getting worse or retracing. Only in hindsight can we see what has happened. For this reason, retracing can be very scary and worrisome. How one handles these situations will determine their overall success with a lifestyle healing program.

Deep healing is not linear. The body will heal what it can when it can. It wants you to succeed and has an innate intelligent order of operations. The unpredictability and timing can be frustrating, but one must submit to the process and adapt accordingly. Every opportunity is an opportunity for growth. I want to share with you a recent story of retracing to show you what it can look like.

One month ago, I had my heaviest period this decade. After switching to a plant based diet, my periods are moderate to light with one day of heavy flow and total length of 2-3 days. I look forward to my period as a time of reflection, renewal, and cleansing. This period was different. I bled 3 times as much as I normally do. It hit me hard as I am also breastfeeding. The total amount of fluid loss left me feeling weak, anemic, and breathless regardless of what I ate or drank. I was not worried. I knew it would take time to rebuild my blood supply.

During my period, I had dreams and visions of my most traumatic experiences as a child. These particular experiences are ones I wanted to heal and move on for years, but never felt like I knew how to do so. I repressed many of the memories. I have separated myself from those who caused the abuse and trauma, but its not a topic I like to think about or discuss. It became part of my past that started to haunt me, and I didn’t like how it was affecting my present.

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Whenever I feel strong emotions and memories of my past that need to be seen and processed, I go to meditation, often meditation with the use of essential oils in an Epsom salt bath to help release the emotions and cleanse them away. This month I began using orange essential oil in my spiced cider recipe. For three days following ingesting orange essential oil for the first time, I flashed back to every emotional significant experience where I was extremely scared. I flashed back in chronological order starting as an infant, through adolescence, and into adulthood.

I noticed a theme. I was scared and powerless in every flashback. This is how I knew that the retracing was triggered by the orange essential oil and facilitated by intense cleansing in the form of my period. You see, orange is the color of our third chakra that is our power center. In order for me to fully step into my power, I need to face and release every significant moment where I was powerless. The memory will remain, but the stored emotion must be released.

I was so excited when I realized why I was feeling the emotion so intensely, because I knew my body was shifting into its power. However, the symptoms continued and got worse to the point where I became concerned. Am I getting worse due to stress and lack of sleep? I developed mastitis, and it lasted longer than I expected. My breast swelled, my arm hurt, and my lymph became backed up. I used my normal approaches for this situation, such as rest, Epsom salt baths, and cinnamon essential oil. This usually clears up a clogged duct within 24 hours for me. But this time was more complicated.

I store my energy for nurturing others in my left breast. Many of my powerless traumas involved an expectation of over nurturing others in an imbalanced or inappropriate manner. I could feel the heartache these experiences caused. In meditation, the mantra “My heart is in pain.” appeared over and over again. I felt like maybe the constant interrupted sleep of nursing a newborn multiple times a night had taken its toll and that only sleep and patience could solve this discomfort.

Then last night, I had a break through. Before bed, my husband suggested that I was processing something deep that had been stored for a long time. He recommended that I not worry and embrace what that could be. Then I went into meditation and had another intense flashback. I relived my wisdom tooth surgery: the pre-surgery jitters, the comatose state, feeling close to death, the grief of losing a body part, the fear of not being with my mom, and the illness caused by the pharmaceutical drugs.

Retracing anesthesia is as scary as it gets for me. I learned just how harmful and traumatic the surgery was for my mind, body, and soul and that it’s haunted me for over a decade. I was reminded that I was close to death in a comatose state where my body was totally paralyzed, and I was victimized. I was reminded that those drugs leave residues. They can create temporary paralysis symptoms, moments of intense fear, and limit physical range of motions. It weakened my heart and has caused many episodes of dizziness.

I understand that pharmaceutical drugs and surgery have a time and a place, but that they should be used as an absolute last resort. I was reminded why I turn to whole foods, herbs, spices, and essential oil FIRST, and why I invest so much into prevention and healthy foundational habits. I was reminded of how powerful my body is and how my liver protected me from death. My heart kept pumping and has chosen to heal from lack of love, so that I may become unconditional love for my family. I woke up with a feeling of optimism and hope.

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My heart and boob still ache. I still feel the fear and panic releasing. But I know that I am transforming into a more powerful version of myself. I am grateful to be alive. I am grateful to be able to run, jump, and sing. I’m grateful to be able to breastfeed a beautiful little girl. I’m grateful for an amazing supportive husband who does not judge me for my past or emotions and instead holds space for me to heal and grow. I’m thankful for essential oils taking my health to the next level by helping me release such powerful, stored emotions. I’m grateful for the pink roses my daughter picked out. I’m grateful for the wild blueberry pie I had for breakfast. What an amazing opportunity for growth on Thanksgiving Day!

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PS. Did you know that wild blueberries are one of the best foods to help overcome life and death situations? Wild blueberry bushes can be burned to the ground and will come back stronger than ever.

Moving Beyond Disease Management and into Vitality

For the last few years, I have focused on finding and implementing strategies to fully heal chronic illness for myself and others. All of my tools can be done at home by anyone. I started with what I call “foundation tools”. They include clean water, fresh air, sunshine, exercise, rest, and diet. I’ve seen a great reduction in disease symptoms and a return of quality of life.

When I first started my journey, I had debilitating food and environmental allergies and sensitivities. I had to wear a mask to walk to class during Spring. If clothes were washed in a washer with mildew or mold, I couldn’t wear them without having convulsions. If I ate the wrong item, I could throw up or have diarrhea for a week. I quickly learned for survival sake that I needed to eliminate as many harmful substances as I could to switch off from flight or fight and enter rest and digest mode. Just walking through the cleaning aisle of a store would trigger asthma attacks and migraines.

I went through a period of time when my liver was so congested, that I would react to anything slightly toxic. This was a blessing and a curse. It was a blessing, because I was made acutely aware of anything harmful. My body could sense mold long before a mold test. I picked up on water leak and mold issue in an apartment months before they found the source. It was a curse because I could no longer live the standard American lifestyle. If I ate the same as my peers, then I would be violently ill. If I had one drink of alcohol, then I would be immune suppressed for a full week. If I breathed in cigarette smoke or scented candles, then my lungs would close until I got to fresh air. This was highly restrictive and limited many joys that others my age were experiencing.

One of the areas that I was highly restricted to was aromatic compounds. Everything I bought had to be unscented. If it listed fragrance, then it was out of the question. If the cleaning product contained ammonia, then I couldn’t go near it. My life became very simple. The less ingredients, the better. I began looking for personal care and cleaning products with natural ingredients. Many of the products I was drawn to contained essential oils.

A few months ago, my friend invited me to learn about her wellness business. I sat in a room full of women and we passed around little bottles of essential oils. She discussed the care in which the company took to ensure the highest quality pure, therapeutic grade essential oils from seed to seal. The amount of life energy contained in each bottle was incredible. I knew from just holding the little bottles that they were gems and worth an investment.

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I bought the premium starter kit and began energy experiments. I started diffusing them, applying them topically, and ingesting a few of them. I realized that this was exactly what my wellness journey was missing. The aromatic compounds in these essential oils are life giving. They help to focus energy according to your wellness goals. They open up sinuses instead of closing them. They help to ground energy in to the earth. They help to focus spiritual energy during meditation. They help to let go of stored emotions that are creating chaos. They help to keep a greater purpose in mind and not sweat the small details. They help skin to glow. The list goes on and on. They smell true to nature and carry a sense of home.

My energy experiments have confirmed the quality of design in their blends. Anywhere that an individual registers with excess oxidative stress is the first place that the blend, Stress Away, targets. Valor supports the kidneys and bladder to let go of fear and strengthens the heart chakra thereby increasing courage. The immune support blend, Thieves, strengthens the thymus. The blends are designed well enough that if you have a specific symptom or goal, then you can trust the oils blends as labeled.

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The high-quality oils are just the beginning. This company has products to support all wellness needs, including cleaning, skincare, makeup, supplements, kids, and pets. They are bringing wellness into the lives of millions by reducing stress caused by ingesting everyday toxins and giving life to dreams, goals, and inspiration. The educational literature included in the lifestyle resonates with the approaches I have found to be most effective including but not limited to fasting, colon hydrotherapy, liver cleanses, dietary approaches, and processing stored emotions. I have been searching for my tribe of like-minded individuals and finally feel at home with this wellness community.

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I’m excited to take my wellness journey to the next step by partnering with Young Living. Gary Young had an incredible vision of a better tomorrow. I’m grateful for the opportunity to help make the vision a reality.

Does my story resonate with you? Are you also looking for quality products to help reach your wellness goals? Are you new to essential oils and looking for more educational information? Are you an oil expert looking for a better quality product? Reach out to me and let’s further the discussion. I’d be honored to guide you on your wellness journey. Follow me on IG at plantedvitality.

Root Cause of Allergies and How to Reverse Them

One of my biggest challenges of living with Chronic Lyme Disease was the emergence of food and environmental allergies. I developed a severe case of OCD in an attempt to eliminate or avoid anything that triggered an allergic response. I was highly reactive to mold, construction dust, pollen, animal products, antibiotics, pharmaceuticals, wheat, dairy, corn and corn products, chemical additive such as sodium benzoate, synthetic fragrances, and even foods, such as sweet potatoes, pineapple, zucchini, eggplant, etc. I would have panic attacks, asthma attacks, mental confusion, general itching, and debilitating fatigue. I was so consumed with fear of everyday activities and environments that I could no longer live fully. I had entered pure survival mode with a very low quality of life. I developed PTSD and experienced increasingly worse allergic reactions.

When I finally discovered the right path to healing, I still eliminated and avoided allergy triggers, but I kept an optimistic perspective. I was determine to understand the root cause of allergies and how to reverse them. I was highly disappointed with the literature on allergies from a western medical perspective. I found proclaimed ignorance to the cause and poor symptom management techniques. In the alternative medicine realm, I found NAET and used that technique for several months without much decrease in allergic reactions. I would have had to done hundreds of NAET sessions to reverse all of my allergies if it was effective, so I found the treatment to be a poor use of time and monetary resources.

I gathered what information I could find from various sources that presented pieces of the puzzle to the allergy mystery. I created an allergy theory and drew up a lifestyle game plan to reverse my allergies. As of a month ago, I have successfully reversed all of my environmental and foods allergies, including my most severe reactions to mold and sweet potatoes.

In this article, I will present my allergy theory and the steps necessary to reverse allergies. My theory and experimental results closely align with the theory presented by nutritional balancing scientist, Dr. Lawrence Wilson. My theory differs in that I recommend the elimination of animal products and the inclusion of organic fruits.

For the purpose of this article, I am going to define an allergic response as a prolonged inflammatory stress response. I am going to focus on IgG and IgE type reactions. This theory does not apply to anaphylaxis IGA type reactions.  It is important to remember that allergic reactions have an evolutionary advantage that consists of protection from foreign objects. In a healthy immune response, there is a stress wave consisting of an acute phase followed by a recovery phase before the body returns back to equilibrium. In the acute phase, the immune system secretes pro-inflammatory signaling proteins and hormones to attack and sequester the foreign object. In the recovery phase, the body secretes anti-inflammatory hormones, such as cortisol, to disperse and replenish nutrition to the army of immune responders. When the immune responders are dispersed, rested, and restored then the body is back in equilibrium ready for the next attack. An allergic response occurs when there is a breakdown in the proper immune response and symptoms arise from prolonged inflammation.

Root Causes of Allergies

  • Weak Adrenal Glands.

The adrenal glands are responsible for producing cortisol, the body’s main anti-inflammatory hormone that is responsible for the regenerative phase of the stress wave. Also, the adrenals produce pro-inflammatory hormones, epinephrine and norepinephrine (AKA adrenaline and noradrenaline), to slow down allergic reactions by opposing histamine production. A person showing signs of a sympathetic dominance pattern struggles from a dysregulation of glands that prevent the nervous system from properly responding to immune responses. Exposure to fatigue, cold and stress of any kind can weaken the adrenal glands and trigger more severe allergic reactions.

  • Cell Permeability

Cell membrane defects allow foreign proteins to enter cells; this causes histamine to pass freely in and out of cells. When the histamine reaches blood circulation, symptoms will appear.

  • Nutrient Deficiencies coupled with Heavy Metal Toxicities

Vitamin C deficiencies lead to adrenal insufficiency, as this vitamin is a building block for the production of cortisol. More vitamin C is stored in the adrenals than any other part of the body. Under times of stress, the body retains copper and dumps zinc to properly manage stress hormones, such as adrenaline. Chronic stress and poor nutrition will lead to a zinc deficiency coupled with a copper toxicity.

  • Leaky Gut

This condition presents with damaged, inflamed, and malnourished intestinal membrane that becomes excessively permeable. Unwanted foreign objects, such as partially digested food, food toxins, food chemicals, bacteria, viruses, and fungus, cross the intestinal membrane and enter the bloodstream. At this point, the body mounts a systematic inflammatory response to clear the blood of unwanted, foreign objects.

  • Ingestion of Foreign Objects

The human body is not meant to ingest certain objects, because there is no nutritional value and the objects cause harm to human tissues. Common foreign objects that elicit strong allergic responses include but are not limited to chemical toxins (food additives, herbicides), heavy metals, pharmaceutical drugs, and vaccines.

  • Autointoxication

When the elimination organs and pathways become congested, the body’s ability to properly break down and assimilate food decreases. This could be the result of liver congestion due to thick bile, intrahepatic stones, and parasites. Intrahepatic stones may appear in the common bile duct where they partially block the flow pancreatic enzymes of fluids necessary to break down food in the stomach and small intestine. Decreased food breakdown and absorption leads to large food particles putrefying in the large intestine thereby causing auto-intoxication.

  • Trauma

Emotional and physical traumas can weaken the adrenals, deplete nutrients, and encourage the storage of toxic metals. The type of trauma can have an effect on where the toxic metals are stored and where the allergic reaction presents.

 

How to Properly Interpret IGG Food Allergy Test Results

Allergy and sensitivity testing is very popular in the alternative health world right now. While it is logical for someone to have an adverse reaction to a foreign object, it seems strange that people are having adverse reactions to whole foods. Being allergic to foods that have incredible healing properties never sat well with me. Recently, I listened to a podcast by Anthony Williams, The Medical Medium, on this topic (see sources) and his interpretation of IgG testing resonated with my understanding of natural laws and my personal experience with reversing food allergies.

The IgG allergy test recognizes when the body produces histamine in response to eating certain whole foods. However, the method in which these healing food produce histamine is indirect via a healing reaction. Often these foods have powerful healing capabilities, such as antimicrobial properties. If you have a viral, bacterial, or fungal overgrowth, then ingesting this food may will the infection. When these germs die, they release neurotoxins and the body needs to clean up the debris, so the body mounts an immune response (cue histamine!) to clean up the mess. Also, you may only exhibit the undesirable allergy symptoms when your elimination organs and pathways are congest and the adrenals are weak.

If you chose to get tested, pay attention to the foods that elicit an IgG response. Those food are going to be your medication for returning to vitality. However, start slowly and watch how you respond as to not elicit an intolerable healing reaction. Make sure to support your adrenals as you reintroduce or increase these foods. You want to avoid consuming so much at once that you exhaust all of your adrenal resources. I recommend muscle testing foods that trigger IgG responses before adding them back into your diet. If you muscle test strong, then your adrenals are healthy enough to handle the healing that will happen in response to eating that food.

How to Reverse Allergies

Begin a nutritional balancing program that focuses on organic, gluten-free, non-gmo whole foods. This means you must reduce and eliminate wheat, dairy, animal products, and processed foods, especially those containing refined or synthetic sugar and gmos. See my article on glyphosate as to why I make this general recommendation.

Focus on incorporating foods that are high in vitamin C, vitamin A, manganese, bioflavonoids, essential fatty acids (avocados, Greek extra virgin olive oil, coconut oi), and herbs like stinging nettle. Eat lightly cooked vegetables 2-3 times a day to reverse nutritional deficiencies. Reverse mineral deficiencies by incorporating sea salt, fresh pressed celery juice, lemons, limes, sea vegetables, and leafy greens. Heal leaky gut by incorporating pre-biotics (bananas, potatoes, sweet potatoes) and living probiotics in the form of fermented vegetables (sauerkraut, kombucha).

Decongest elimination organs and pathways. This is key. It doesn’t matter how good your diet is if you cannot break down and absorb nutrients or effectively process toxins and metabolic waste. In my experience, the best way to decongest the liver is to perform a liver flush series by Andreas Mortiz (check out “The Amazing Liver and Gallbladder Flush”) combined with coffee enemas as needed and nutritional liver support, such as dandelion tea. Decongest the intestines by performing colonics or warm water enemas and reducing or eliminating animal products that have no fiber. Support the kidneys with optimal hydration. Drink at least half of your body weight in ounces of pure water every day. Drink cranberry juice, lemons, and kidney cleanse tea to break down calcification. Decongest the skin by sweating regularly during exercise or warm Epsom salt baths.

Reduce and eliminate ingesting foreign objects. Cease taking pharmaceutical medications, vaccines, and flu shots. Avoid eating processed foods and taking synthetic supplements. Switch over to natural cosmetics and cleaning products (castile soap, vinegar).

Exercise at light and moderate intensities by incorporating walking, yoga, stretching, rebounding, and light weights into your fitness routine. Temporarily reduce or eliminate intense exercise, such as running, that can deplete the adrenals.

Utilize stress reduction and management techniques, such as sleep, meditation, and spending time in nature. Find ways to process and let go of negative emotions while focusing on optimistic perspective and positive thoughts. Work through and release past emotional traumas. Don’t forget to laugh and remember Bill Hick’s saying “It’s just a ride.”

The most important take away from this article is that allergies can be reversed. You do not have to suffer and live in fear of the next reaction for the rest of your life. Be patient. It may take a year or longer for allergic reactions to cease when you take steps that lead to rebuilding the adrenals, liver, and intestines.

Sources:

http://www.theraj.com/allergies/allergies-causes-treatments.php

https://www.tcmworld.org/get-to-the-root-cause-of-allergies-with-tcm/

http://www.ener-chi.com/gallstones-in-the-liver-can-cause-disorders-of-the-respiratory-system/

http://drlwilson.com/articles/allergies.htm

https://player.fm/series/medical-medium-podcast/healing-from-allergies