As someone who has spent the last three years dealing with eczema, skin care is very important to me. There are a few simple things you can do to keep your skin healthy. Several of these will also strengthen your nails and give you healthier hair as well.
Vitamin E.
Vitamin E protects the skin from free radicals, it has anti-aging elements and protects the skin from the sun. Vitamin E can heal skin conditions and wounds. This is great used topically for skin care.
Coconut Oil. Coconut oil is excellent massage oil for the skin as well. It acts as an effective moisturizer on all types of skins including dry skin. The benefit of coconut oil on the skin is comparable to that of mineral oil. Further, unlike mineral oil, there is no chance of having any adverse side effects on the skin with the application of coconut oil. Coconut oil therefore is a safe solution for preventing dryness and flaking of skin. It also delays wrinkles, and sagging of skin which normally become prominent with age. Coconut oil also helps in treating various skin problems including psoriasis, dermatitis, eczema and other infections. Therefore coconut oil forms the basic ingredient of various body care products such as soaps, lotions, creams, etc., used for skin care. Coconut oil also helps in preventing premature aging and degenerative diseases due to its antioxidant properties.
Oatmeal Baths. This is a great way to soften and heal any skin issue. Blend 1 1/2 cups of oats to a fine powder, or simply buy oat flour. Put in a hot bath and soak for 20 minutes. I also like to add essential oils to my bath to help me relax.
Colodial Silver. This has been the best product I've found for healing my skin. We bought a gallon jug and put some in a spray bottle and I've been spraying on the wounds on my legs daily. After YEARS of dealing with this, my legs are nearly healed. It's antibacterial and a truly amazing product.
MSM. It is the MSM in Aloe Vera leaves that sooths and repairs skin that has been cut, scraped, burned or damaged. The body then repairs the skin with the proper raw materials. MSM can be added to water, aloe vera gel, and other preparations for application to the skin. Best results are obtained when MSM is applied topically and taken internally.
Monday morning my Dad took me to the ER due to massive swelling in the abdomen; I could barely walk or breath, LOTS of pain, massive swelling, felt like my organs were going to explode. They ran several tests and determined that my spleen and liver were massively swollen. My liquid monster issue had overrun my body again. I take diuretics at home, but apparently the dosage stopped working or getting through, I blew up again and overloaded my organs. Plus, I have been majorly fatigued these last few weeks; my iron levels had dropped below the danger level. They checked me in, set me up on an IV for diuretics, and then later a blood transfusion. I felt better automatically when receiving the blood; energy back! I spent Monday, Tuesday and most of Wednesday at the hospital. They let me check out Wednesday night. I've adjusted my at home meds, and have a check up in a week. I feel soooo much better! I think I dropped about 20 lbs, and though my organs are still swollen, I'm working on that.
So what happens now? Right before this, I had built a plan I called my "Liquid Love Feast". I realized my body was spending too much time on digestion, and my diet had slipped. I hate juicing, the process not the actual juice, so I looked into some programs including the Blue Print Cleanse, which was just too expensive. So I came up with a new solution. There is a shop called Coffee Girls less than five minutes from my house that makes fresh juice. They come in 20oz, and they have 8 different varieties. From my research, if you go on a juice feast, drinking 64-80 oz of juice daily is ideal. So I plan on getting 4 drinks a day. Right now we have just been running up and buying them, and of course I was in the hospital, so no real time to get started. I am going to try and work something out, maybe a delivery system with the store; fingers crossed.
In addition I'm drinking lots of coconut water and aloe beverages. Protein drinks as well. I've decided to allow certain things like light soups, applesauce, etc. However, liquid is the focus. My goal is to do 1-3 enemas daily, skin brushing, detox baths, etc. I also ordered a liver cleanse, which I'll blog about when it arrives. I really want to focus on getting healthy.
As I get stronger, yoga will also be added and a few other items as well.
Polly has an amazing story and I'm so grateful I have the opportunity to share it with you today.
I
understand this is your second time with cancer; the first you
followed the traditional methods. How did you feel when the cancer
returned, and what made you decide to explore options outside of
chemo? Most people don't even realize they have any, so how did you
discover holistic healing?
Obviously
being told the cancer had returned was disappointing as no-one ever
wants to be told they have cancer, especially not twice in 4 years!
But I took it as best I could and vowed to do as much as possible to
make myself well again. I refused to let this cancer be my downfall.
During my first diagnosis, I had read The Journey by Brandon Bays who
healed herself naturally by healing emotional issues that had
remained unresolved. This opened up to me a whole new world of
alternative healing and the possibility of the body healing itself.
From here, I just read and read more books on how the body was
designed to heal so when I was diagnosed for the second time and
coupled with the fact i had suffered very badly with side effects
from conventional treatment such as chemo and radiotherapy, it was
kind of a no brainer to try a more natural approach.
How
did you family and friends respond to your choice to go the
alternative route?
I
sat my family down and said, “you may not like nor understand why
or what I’m doing but I feel that this is for me to heal naturally.
I don’t want to know if you disagree or have concerns - it’s not
helpful for me to hear it so please keep it to yourself. I just need
to know you love and support me” to which they agreed because they
are amazing.
Did you work with a regular Oncologist or some form of holistic
doctor? How do you feel you were treated?
I
have had to become my own doctor! I am fortunate to have an
oncologist who is very understanding and happy for me to do this my
way. I have employed a team of practitioners from acupuncturists to
energy healers to integrative doctors so that I have a support system
available to me as and when i need them but ultimately it’s me that
decides what to do and when which I encourage others to do. It’s so
easy to give your power away to your doctor but it’s up to the
person with cancer to take responsibility and do everything they can
to help themselves heal or live with cancer peacefully.
Did you use any detox tools to help move the toxins out, such as
enemas, skin brushing, foot bath, etc?
I
do daily enemas, skin brushing, far infrared saunas (i bought one for
my home), exercise to get the lymph system pumping as well as taking
zeolite clay every morning.
Tell us more about the Cancer Journey book and your inspiration
behind that?
I
began writing The Cancer Journey-Positive Steps To Help Yourself Heal
with 2 other people as part of a 21 day challenge to achieve the
impossible! It took us a lot longer than 21 days as you can imagine
but it was a wonderful springboard to creating a book that is helping
many people. The Cancer Journey is a book I wish I had had when I was
first diagnosed at 24. Its a very practical guide as to what someone
with cancer can do to help themselves whatever route they choose to
take - conventional or alternative. There is often a lot of
information on diet and lifestyle that oncologists and doctors don’t
tell you or simply just don’t know enough about which could
actually make a huge difference between healing or not.
Can
you tell us a little bit about the healing program you are now
implementing?
My
healing program has 2 fundamental parts; detoxification and
nourishment. I concentrate on flooding my body with much needed
nutrients, vitamins & minerals and detoxing my body of toxins and
any other matter, whether physical, emotional or mental - stuff I no
longer need. In addition, I use meditation to help me calm my mind,
put more attention on stillness and turn down the volume on the crazy
fear-fueling thoughts that love to pop up and try to freak me out. I
use vision boards, affirmations, exercise and juicy future goals to
keep me inspired and motivated. All in all, everything I do is to
help my body kickstart its natural healing mechanism which exists
within all of us.
What
is your status today? How are you feeling?
I
feel great! The last scan i had, my doctor said was very encouraging
as there had been no growth to any organs and no real change. So at
least it’s not getting bigger.
What other books would you recommend for the newly diagnosed?
The fist thing I recommend someone do when they are diagnosed is to take inventory of their life and in particular their diet. Adopting an anti-inflammatory diet is super important to reducing and improving the environment in which cancer loves to thrive. Crazy Sexy Diet by the awesome Kris Carr is a great start, Anti-cancer by Dr David Servan-Schreiber, The China Study by Colin Campbell, Healing with whole foods by Paul Pitchford and Healing The Gerson Way by Charlotte Gerson
What lead you to blog and create your own life coaching program?
I was a life coach before I became a holistic health coach so helping people live their best life has always been something I have wanted to do. With my interest and love of food and nutrition it made sense to combine the two to help people use food to improve their health as i feel this impacts every area of life if its out of balance.
Any other tips for newly diagnosed?
Don’t
panic, get lots of different opinions and look at all options before
making a decision. Whatever route you decide to go down whether that
be alternative or conventional, there are always many options
available to you.
About
Me..
Polly
Noble is a holistic health coach, raw food coach, inspirational
speaker and co-author of "The Cancer Journey". She also
writes for The Huffington Post, Passion Magazine and makes regular
appearances on BBC Radio. Having been diagnosed with cancer for the
second time in February 2010, aged 28, Polly embarked on a
kick-cancer-butt mission to heal herself naturally using a more
holistic natural approach.
She
is passionate about using her journey on the cancer train to help
others arm themselves with everything they need to know to create
health and happiness and change their diet and lifestyle to make
prevention their priority, whatever their health. Having studied and researched extensively not only through books but her
studies at The Institute of Integrative Nutrition, she wholeheartedly
believes the body can be healed naturally and shares her insights
& experience with you here. Polly's kick-ass attitude
inspires and motivates people to weed out the toxic crap and get real
with the good stuff! Polly's is co-author of "The Cancer Journey
- Positive Steps To Help Yourself Heal" which is available from
www.thecancerjourneybook.com or Amazon. She is also the subject of a
documentary, following her throughout her healing journey.
Mission
Statement...To inspire others to live a happier and healthier life
and to do everything in their power to achieve this in every moment
so they can live a life they love.
After getting out of the hospital this summer, we did a lot of research to come up with a program for my Stage IV Hodgkin's Lymphoma. The program we picked consisted of seven different components: 1)Cellect, a powder complex with over 97 essential vitamins and minerals 2) Budwig Diet, a cottage cheese and flax oil mixture 3) MOPA, a frequency machine that kills the microbes in your cells, eliminating cancer cells 4)B17/Laetrile, which comes in pills and is found in apricot seeds. Potent complex that kills cancer cells 5) Vegetable Juices 6) Coffee Enemas 7) Sunlight.
Well, out of those seven I am currently doing two. I never did get into juicing; I hated the Budwig Diet and the Cellect is really awful as well. I will be restarting the MOPA soon, I just took a little break from it and admittedly I haven't spent a lot of time in the sun. I realized that I need to put together another program. The juicing has been replaced with green smoothies so mainly it's replacing the Cellect. After doing some research, I believe I've come up with a supplement program that will replace the Cellect and add a few things for my specific condition.
Merlin's Herbal Magic Elixir: This amazing herbal formula has 33 different herbs. A tablespoon a day in one of my smoothies will boost my immune system.
Marine Phytoplankton: This product contains over 90 trace minerals. Here's a bit from the website "People that experience Marine Phytoplankton are known to enjoy enhanced brain function, improved immune function, antiviral, antifungal, antibacterial effects, improved
cellular repair, radiation protection and detoxification,
anti-inflammatory support, antioxidant support, improved circulation,
improved heart function, allergy/asthma relief, suppression of symptoms
stemming from degenerative disease. Plus the intense
chlorophyll content in Ocean's Alive helps to increase oxygen uptake.
Higher oxygen uptake means more fuel to muscles, which translates to
improved performance and endurance."
Colostrum: This product is excellent for the immune system. It increases energy levels, protects the intestinal tract, wards off infection, and reverse the aging process.
Vitamins A, B12, D3 and E: Vitamin A eliminates free radicals, E is great for the skin and brain function, Vitamin B!2 is vital for life and unfortunately the one thing you can't get in a vegetarian diet and of course D also supports the immune system and normally comes from sunlight, which is harder to get during the winter.
CoQ10: this is necessary for basic cell function
MSM:: Helps your body absorb the other supplements, increases energy, oxygen to the cells, reduces inflammation and much more.
Iron: I take this for my anemia
Okra Pepsin: This breaks down the mucus wall inside your intestines
Niacin: This I've been taking to strengthen my heart function
Dr.Kelley's Enzymes: Pancreatic enzymes essential eat dead cells. They will eat the tumors.
Bee Pollen: helps with immunity and hormone levels
D-Ribose: gives you energy and rebuilds bones
I have about 2/3's of these items right now and plan on getting the rest throughout the month. Sadly it's all extremely expensive, so it may take a couple of weeks for me to get on the full program. My goal is to have it all my the first of December. I really feel this will be the best program for me for now. Along with 2 quarts of green smoothie daily, healthy diet, coffee enemas, dry skin brushing, rebounding, meditation, etc.
After some initial rebellion and internal struggle with some of the food changes, I think I'm finally settled. Green Smoothies help tremendously. I've noticed I rarely crave sugar, and if I do I have a nice pulpy glass of orange juice. I did purchase some low sugar chocolate snacks, but haven't really needed them yet. Yesterday I went to Whole Foods and saw my favorite pimento cheese and I just stood there for two minutes, then walked on. I barely glanced at the Bothhouse farm drinks (I like the Mocha Cappuccino) and for the most part managed to make some really good shopping choices.
Coconut Based chocolate ice cream, cacao nibs and macadamia nuts, raw almonds dehydrated and seasoned with vanilla and maple, coconut ice cream bars, vegan/gluten free dark chocolate and orange bar and raw chocolate bar with superfoods. All very low sugar options and great for chocolate cravings.
So good, I'm addicted
LOVE this cereal! Reminds me of Grape Nuts without the crap
I started coffee enemas this week, and have done my meditations while holding the enema. You do a fresh water enema first, releasing immediately, then follow up with the coffee enema, which the goal is to hold for 15 minutes. So far I've gone anywhere from, not going to happen, to about 12 minutes so far. I think it gets easier the more you do it. Here's a great video from Jess the Wellness Warrior on doing coffee enemas:
I'm starting to see some results. I had major fatigue issues through October, and as the week has gone on I've had more and more energy. In fact, yesterday was the first time I didn't nap in who knows when. Not only did I not nap, I tried to go to bed, and ended up laying awake for an hour and getting back up! I still went to bed at a decent time, and got about 8.5 hours of sleep, which usually I sleep for about 12 hours, but I haven't need to. In fact I've had problems with boredom now that I'm not sleeping as much. Suddenly, I have all this time and I have no idea what to do with it. I cleaned off my two tables filled with mail and sorted through. I organized my bills and created a payment plan. I've watched some Hallmark Christmas movies and done some things around the house. I need to make a list of activities. It occurred to me that I could do that puzzle from my 31 Things list, finish putting together the photo album, also from that list. Shoot, I could actually start writing! My brain was too foggy, but it's clearing up so now it the time. Also, exercise and emotional/spiritual exercises. So we'll see how it goes.
Green Smoothie
Vegan Protein Powder
Oatmeal with raisins, cinnamon and a dash of almond milk
Right now one of my biggest projects is finding the right supplement balance. I REALLY hate that Cellect, the mineral/vitamin powder that has like 97 things in it. It's nasty, smells nasty, and just doesn't go away. There really isn't anything else like it though; however, I believe I found an herbal remedy (that I already have some of) called Merlin's Herbal Magic Root Elixir. It has over 30 herbs in it. I will still need to take all my alphabet vitamins (A, B6, B12, B17, D3, E), and Iron. There is also something called Colustrum that is in the Cellect and a great part of it that I can get on it's own. Plus I can start doing MSM again, Bee Pollen, and look into some other things. Some of the stuff is in pill form, but several things can be tossed into my smoothies.
So what's up for week two? Adding in exercising, which will be bouncing on the rebounder. Also, dry skin brushing and I really need to do the neti pot. I plan on thawing out the pesto I made this summer and making a delicious pesto pasta with Quinoa noodles, another soup, either corn chowder or baked potato, and trying out a Creamy Coconut Beans and Rice recipe. And of course, more green smoothies. I'll leave you with a photo of tonight's Buddha Bowl. This one has brown rice, diced potatoes, orange bell pepper, green beans, and seasoned tofu. Bowls are very easy to make. Pretty much use rice as your base, then any kind of veggie you could possibly think of, toss them together, and there you go. Delicious.
People often contact me when a loved one is diagnosed with cancer. It's such a frightful time initially, most people simple don't know what to do, and just step in line with whatever the doctor tells them. I have put together a list of tips that should be helpful to newly diagnosed patients, regardless of the method of treatment you chose to go through.
Your cancer did not appear overnight. That's right, you did not wake up one day and have cancer, it's been slowly growing in your system for years, YEARS, before you or your doctor discovered it. What does this mean? It means that there is no need to rush into a treatment plan. While you might not want to wait months or years, you have a few weeks to explore your options, get multiple opinions and do some resesearch before diving into a plan. Your doctor will likely attempt to immediately drag you into the chemo room, but hold fast little cancer patient. Take some time to discover what treatment options feel right for you.
Get more than one opinion. I've talked to people who had one oncologist insist they needed a port, another both chemo and raditation and another wanted to try localized chemo treatments, no port, all for the SAME cancer. It's also important to realize you will be working very closely with this person, so having an oncologist that is supportive and informative is very important. And if you are interested in incorporating holistic methods, or going holistic all the way, see a Naturopath as well. In fact, if you have more than one in your area, shop them too. They will also likely have different treatment suggestions.
Before starting chemotherapy, read Chris Beat Cancer's excellent blog entry: Why I Didn't Do Chemo. Great source of information.
Chemo and radiation are extremely hard on the body and can make you feel very sick. Ginger is great tool for battling the nausea. You can get them as chewable tablets, buy fresh ginger or pills. Personally when my stomach is upset I think slowly chewing the pills helps a lot. I have a friend that swears by this for enduring chemo treatments. Also, chemo can cause a lot of nerve pain and damage. Acupuncture is a great tool for healing this. Set up your appointments directly after your chemo treatment, therefore you won't be spending the night in agonizing pain.
Become a nutrition expert. It's so important to support your body during cancer treatments. Cancer feeds on an acidic state and loves sugar. Green smoothies are an easy way to get started. Check out Victoria Boutenko's book "Green for Life" and the "Green Smoothie Revolution." Crazy Sexy Cancer chica Kris Carr recently released a wonderful book called "Crazy Sexy Diet." This book gives you a step by step process for transforming your diet. She's a kickass cancer warrior and I highly recommend all of her books.
Shake Your Booty. I realize that fatigue is a big issue for a lot of cancer patients, but the more you move your body, the better you will feel and the faster you will heal. Your lymphatic system does not have it's own pump, it only moves when you move. When it gets sluggish, toxins can re-enter the bloodstream, making you feel sick. One of the best ways for cancer patients to exercise is the rebounder. This mini-trampoline is fun and easy and 10 minutes on it is worth 30 minutes of walking. It gets the lymph pumping and for those with little energy, do 5 minutes multiple times a day. Keep that lymph moving. Yoga is also a great tool. It helps with your breathing, flexibility, stress levels, etc.
Detox, Detox, Detox. It's so important to move those toxins out of your body. If they don't come out, they will just be recycled back into your bloodstream, yikes! Dry Skin Brushing, neti pot, enema's, parasite cleanse, colonics; these are all great tools. Read more about them on my blog entry: Detox Your World
Not every treatment works the same on everyone. I have tried many different treatments during my cancer journey and some have had amazing results, and others not so much. However, some of the things that didn't work for me did wonders for others. Each person is different and the best way is to do something, and get frequent blood tests to see if the treatment is having an effect. Holistic remedies can be expensive, so there is no point wasting money on something that is having no affect. Also, if it's not having an affect, you definitely want to find something new that will benefit you.
Take Care of Your Emotional Health. I believe that cancer is an imbalance not only of the physical body, but the emotional and spiritual as well. Plus, a lot of emotions can come up when diagnosed. Healing modalities such as EFT (emotional freedom technique), Reiki, meditation, affirmations, etc. can be a great help. Louise Hay is a wonderful woman who healed her cancer using daily affirmations. She has a great book called "You Can Heal Your Life" that I highly recommend.
Educate Yourself. Read anything and everything you can on healing. There are a ton of resources out there and more coming out all the time. I've created an Amazon module at the bottom of this post with my recommendations of cancer healing books. Check it out!
Get social. People who are not going through cancer treatments are often sympathetic, but don't always understand everything we are going through. Crazy Sexy Life is a social networking site run by Kris Carr that has over 23,000 members, all healing from cancer. Many of these people are combining converntional medicines with holistic rememdies. There are many "Groovy Groups" for supporting people going through cleanses, specific cancers, people new to yoga and meditation, recipes, etc. Great resource for support.
Buy This DVD. Cancer is Curable Now. An amazing look at the cancer industry and how you can heal now, without chemo or radiation. Watch it before you decide on a treatment plan.
Read the incredible story of Jane VanBenthusen, who healed herself from cervical cancer after being told there was no cure. Read her story here: Jane VanBenthusen
This is really a starter guide. Dive into this, then if you have further questions or want more information, feel free to email me or leave a comment on this blog post. I wish you the best in your cancer journey. Click here to read about my personal cancer journey.
Friday night, after spending 36 hours in agony, I finally broke down and went to the ER. My right leg had swollen like a balloon, and had a sore that oozed yellow puss. I tried many things to get the swelling down on my own, but alas, no luck. When I finally got in to the hospital room, they determined I had an infection called Cellulitis. I've been dealing with eczema for almost two years now, and have many sores, primarily on my legs. Apparently one of the sores got infected, causing the swelling and oozing. After a dose of painkillers and an anti-biotic prescription, they discharged me. The pain has greatly reduced, along with the swelling. Infections such as this can be dangerous without treatment. Upon reflection I'm a little surprised this hasn't happened before, due to the eczema sores. I have done everything under the sun to eliminate this skin issue, however, I think my immune system is just on overload with cancer, anemia, hormone imbalance, etc. However, there are many things that can be done to prevent these issues, and I know that as the rest of my body heals, my skin will as well.
Our skin is the largest organ in our body. It also is an important outlet for detoxing toxins from our system. Here are some tips on keeping your skin healthy, and dealing with skin issues.
Skin Care Tips
Use Natural Skin Care Products. Throw out the hard soaps, the body washes filled with chemicals, and stick with natural products. Burt's Bee's makes a great body wash. I personal love Zum soaps, made locally here in Kansas City. When showering, it is not necessary to soap our entire body each day. My dermatologist told me that by washing our entire epidermis daily, we are removing protective layers, drying out our skin. The only areas that need to be thoroughly washed daily are under the arms, bottoms of the feet and our privates. Otherwise, I wouldn't do a full body wash more than once a week. The rest of the body gets clean during the shower process without the aid of soaps.
Throw Out Your Lotion. Instead of using lotions, many of which are actually drying and contain chemicals, I put coconut oil on my body after getting out of the shower. It's a great moisturizer and extremely healthy.
Dry Skin Brushing. Our skin is constantly shedding itself. Dead cells can build up on our skin, causing it to dry out, lose it's shine and block toxins from properly exiting the body. Use a skin brush daily before your shower will remove these dead cells, keeping your skin clean and fresh and healthy. Check out this article for more information: Dry Skin Brushing For Whole Body Health.
Use a Moisturizing Skin Mask Weekly. Meghan from the blog Making Love in the Kitchen has a great recipe for a skin mask that will revitalize your skin. Check it out here.
Tea Tree Oil. If you do have skin eruptions, tea tree oil kills bacteria and is a great tool. I would also suggest after cleaning the skin with the tea tree oil, using zinc oxide to heal the wound.
Proper Diet and Exercise. What we put in our body is often reflected in our skin. Highly processed, sugary foods will certainly make your skin break out. Drinking green smoothies will help you in many ways, including keeping your skin fresh looking. Exercise is also important for moving toxins from the body, many which are released through the skin.
Cleansing is an interesting experience. It's a cross between feeling groovy from the energy boost of your Green Smoothie to taking an ass kicking as all the addictive foods start to leave your body. Toxins rush to the forefront, just aching to be released, which can cause you to spend half your day on the toilet, gasping at the new found zits that popped up, headaches, and be just damned cranky. However, the negative side effects are just that, and by using proper Detox Tools, such as Epsom salt baths, skin brushing, neti pot and enemas, symptoms are greatly reduced and toxins are kicked squarely out the door.
So far I'm handling the cleanse pretty well. I had a bit of a rough time on Day 1, due to lack of preparation. Tip#1: Be prepared before starting your cleanse. Go to the store the day before, put together a meal plan, and success is yours. Tip#2: Have healthy snacks readily available. I almost broke, but just made it. Day 2 went much better, I had a lovely Spinach/Strawberry/Banana smoothie for breakfast and my afternoon snack. Sadly, I had a few challenges (my fault) with the recipes I planned. I made a Caesar salad for lunch, which started out pretty delicious, but good god there was too much dressing! I don't usually indulge in dressing, but this particular recipe is high in Omega-3's, had Nutritional Yeast, which is a complete source of protein, and made the salad more filling and long lasting. Unfortunately I could only eat half of it before getting too full, and the rest was too soggy to save. Tip#3: Add dressing slowly, you can always add more if necessary. Another example of more isn't necessarily better happened when I made Twice Baked Chipotle Sweet Potatoes. The original recipe served 4, so I modified it for just me, though not enough. Spicy!! I managed to eat half and save the other half for another meal, but I thought my head would blow off. Fortunately, they were very filling, and next time I will definitely reduce the recipe more.
Day 3 I made a huge batch of Green Smoothie; Kale/Orange/Banana with Amazing Grasses powdered added to it. Fantastic!! The addition of the powder really balanced it out and added a great flavor. Thorough enjoyment. For dinner I made a delicious Buddha Bowl, consisting of brown rice, bean sprouts, Mustand Saag (sauteed Mustard Greens and Spinach, blended into a paste in a food processor with your seasonings of choice), seasoned tofu and red bell pepper. So good!
Evening time called for relaxation, a lovely bath of Epsom Salts, Apple Cider Vinegar, Baking Soda and Lavendar Essential Oil, great for detoxing. I had a wonderful cup of Chai tea, and relaxed to a mystery novel. So far the cleanse has been good. Triton and I have walked each day, and I've continued to incorporate meditation into my daily practice.
For more info where I found this cleanse click here.
I've read several articles debating on the importance of New Year's Resolutions. This year I've put together a list of "intentions" for the year, things that I feel are doable and will help my continued growth.
I intend to create a daily practice of yoga, meditation and journaling
I intend to drink at least one Green Smoothie daily
I intend to do 35 minutes or more of cardio exercise at least 4 times a week, this includes dog walking, rebounder, etc.
I intend to focus on growing my blog this year, including number of followers, investing in SEO program, creating regular posts and updating the look
I intend to write and publish my first book
I intend to focus on my Spiritual practice, which could include taking classes at the Rime Buddhist Center, increasing my meditation practice, Spiritual reading, prayer, and creating my own Sacred Space.
I intend to start the year with a 21 Day Adventure Cleanse, and do mini-cleanses throughout the year
I intend to continue to build and grow my friendships and schedule at least one social outing each week
I intend to attend a Vipssanna meditation retreat as part of my healing and Spiritual growth
I intend to take a vacation this year, location TBA
Yesterday I started my 21 Day Adventure Cleanse. Unlike a lot of cleanses, you are encouraged to eat as much as needed to be satisfied, as long as the meals fit the parameter of the diet. I am abstaining from all coffee, gluten, animal products, and sugar. The focus is on fresh vegetables and fruits, either raw or steamed, nuts and seeds, rice, and healthy grains. The cleanse also encourages daily exercise, meditation, and the utilization of detox tools such as the Neti Pot and Dry Skin Brushing. Once a week there is a fast, only fresh juice, smoothies and tea. This day of rest allows the body to really eliminate toxins. I have been journaling my experience and will post recipes and my progress as I continue through the 21 Days.
Our body takes in toxins daily, from the pesticides in our food, the chemicals in our shampoos and the air we breathe. Even if you are on a strict organic diet using only natural household products, you still have toxins. High levels of toxins affect how our body functions, creating disease, increasing parasites and nasty bacteria in our body, making us fatigued and gain weight. There are several simple, at home tools that you can add to your daily practice that will help you eliminate these toxins from your body, and make you healthier overall.
1. Skin Brushing The Skin is the largest organ in the body; a quarter of our daily elimination comes through the skin. The Lymphatic System is the one system in our body that does not have it's own "pump" to help it circulated. It can become stagnant it we do not actively move it. Skin brushing stimulates the Lymph system, moving toxins through, into the colon, releasing during urination. Skin Brushing has many great benefits including improving the elasticity of your skin, removing dead tissue that clogs pores, reducing cellulite, improving digestion, increasing the production of new cells, strengthening the immune system and improving lymph function. You can get a dry brush from most supermarkets, drug stores, Target, Whole Foods, etc. Do it before you get into the shower each day. Watch the video below to see how it's done.
2. Colon Cleansing The average person has 25lbs of feces jam packed into their colon. Yuck!! Because of all the toxins we've allowed into our bodies, the colon has become a feeding ground for parasites, who thrive on the nasty bacteria buildups. All of this nasty commotion slows down the function of the colon, which can cause toxins to leak back into the bloodstream, make it difficult for you to assimilate all the nutrients in your food, make bowel movements difficult or infrequent and cause fatigue. Finding a colonic practitioner is a great way to eliminate this buildup, and make your colon shiny and new again. Enema's are a great at home tool, however they most clean out the rectum, the last 8-12 inches of the colon. However, even doing this can help get you moving better, and eliminate the buildup in the rest of the colon. Coffee enemas also help detox the liver, pulling even more toxins from the body. I highly recommend including enemas in your detox practice. I would personally purchase the enema bucket for the easiest and cleanest process.
Detox Your Liver with a Coffee Enema: Coffee Enema
3. Neti Pot The neti pot is a great tool for cleaning out the sinuses. Colds, allergies, respiratory problems are very common. The sinuses fill with bacteria, mucus and other toxins. By gently washing them with saline, you can prevent sinus related sickness! Simply insert the Neti Pot gently into your nostril, tilt your head, and let the liquid slowly drain through, cleaning out the nasal passages. Repeat on the other side. You can do this as often as you like, some people do it daily, like brushing your teeth. I would recommend doing it before getting into the shower. I often find that the moisture from the shower makes me release even more mucus from my nostrils, plus I'd rather get rid of the "gunk" during my shower, than sit on the couch for 20 minutes after blowing my nose.
4. The Zapper This unique tool uses a small electronic pulse to kill parasites in your system. Yes, people, worms, creepy crawlers and all sorts of nasties are living in your body right now, feeding off your waste, eating your food before you get to properly digest it, and they can also feed off of you!! Creating healthy eating habits and detoxing regularly can eliminate or reduce parasites in your system. The Terminator Zapper is a kickass little tool that you can wear anywhere, that literally "zaps" those pesky little parasites. The first week I slept with it on the bottom of my foot every night, and wore it on various body parts while sedentary. I spent 10 days mostly sleeping and taking trips to the bathroom, no kidding!! My body went into serious detox mode, and when I came out of it I had more energy than I'd had in years.
Grossed out? Would you like to get rid of those pets? Order a Zapper
These are just a few suggestions, that can make a HUGE difference in how your body functions. Exercise, deep breathing, Tongue Scraping, laughter, meditation, detox bath and a good nights sleep are also important in eliminating toxins from your body and keeping healthy.
I love my new Desert Essence Organics Coconut Shampoo and Conditioner, Burt's Bee's facial scrub, goji berries, fresh purple basil from the farmer's market, bouncing on my rebounder, walking down the Trolley Trail with Triton, picking out delicious sounding yogurts for Mom (even though I wouldn't eat them myself), reading Shazzie's Detox Your World, my dry skin brush, Silk's new Dark Chocolate Almond Milk, cozy black sandals, ballerina slippers, going out without makeup, curling my hair, colonics, deep restorative sleep, raw "southern greens" (yummy kale and collards with cayenne and garlic), RAW CACAO, green smoothies, meditation, dancing to Grace Potter and the Nocturals, local natural soap company Zum, Bad Seed Farmer's market, Tooth Soap, exfoliating with my foot scrubber, aloe vera, walking in the park, smelling the fresh Irises I just put in a vase, raw veggies, strawberries, the zapper, painting my nails in wild colors, laughter
